Corruption 2: Advent of Darkness
by Lord Lycaon
Summary: *Book 2 of 3* It has been three months since the catastrophic attack on Canterlot by Sombra's army. Twilight has yet to truly recover from the event that she blames herself for. But the forces of Darkness are striking again in search of the Etna Key to free the dreaded Red-Black Beast. With time now short, Twilight and her friends must find the Etna Key before it's too late.
1. Nightmares

The darkness was everywhere. Everywhere she looked, darkness. She was in an infinite expanse of black. She kept heading forward, hoping, praying that she could find some sort of light. Anything would be better than this endless nothingness.

As she continued onward, she could finally see a gleaming light in the distance. It was small, flickering, and weak, but it was a light all the same. She immediately started running toward it, a small bit of hope having flared to life in her chest. She could finally escape this abysmal place! She could finally go home to her friends and see her family! She could-

The white light flashed red for an instant. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that. The light continued to flicker between red and white, staying red for longer periods of time until it stopped. The bloody shade split into two orbs that became menacing, evil eyes.

_"You will fall into Darkness,"_ said a booming voice that nearly deafened her. The entire plain of blackness lit up into a blazing inferno, the eyes carried by a massive black blaze. _"It is your destiny"_

The blaze moved in to devour her in its infernal maw.

-o-

Twilight shot up with a scream, drenched in a cold sweat, panting heavily. She looked around her bedroom and out the window. It was morning. It looked like the sun had only risen about an hour ago. She placed a hoof over her chest to calm herself a little. But that persisting nightmare of hers…

"Twilight!" called Spike as he rushed into her room. "Are you all right? I heard you scream!"

The purple mare nodded reluctantly. "Y-yes, Spike. I'm fine. Just a… bad dream is all."

The baby dragon didn't seem entirely convinced, but he didn't press the subject. "Well, okay. Breakfast is ready downstairs whenever you're ready." Twilight nodded gratefully as the little dragon left her room.

She leaned back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. That nightmare again… that black inferno with the ruby red eyes… ever since Sombra's defeat three months ago, that sole image had plagued her sleep nearly every night. Princess Luna had tried to help her, but all that did was give the moon princess the same horrible dream for about a week.

The young mare sighed as she pulled herself out of bed and got ready for the day. When she finished, she headed downstairs and into the dining room, where a fresh stack of pancakes awaited her. Spike was in the kitchen, washing his own plate along with a third set. Twilight furrowed her brow slightly. "Spike, where's Flash?"

"He had to go out for a little bit," the baby dragon answered. "He said it was just regular guard stuff."

"Oh." Twilight sighed and sat to eat her breakfast, lifting up a fork and knife with her magic. She had grown used to eating breakfast with Flash Sentry. After Twilight had been released from the hospital in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had recommended that a guard stay with Twilight until further notice, just in case… something happened. Flash was one of the few who volunteered for the job. He was a nice enough guy, and even helped around the library when he wasn't out on the town running errands or doing guard work. Twilight occasionally caught herself just staring at him when she didn't think anyone else was looking. This didn't go unnoticed by her friends, who sometimes teased her about having a crush, which she of course denied completely.

She finished eating and levitated her plate and eating utensils into the kitchen, where Spike took them and got to washing them. Twilight then left the dining room and went into her workplace in the library, where she kept her schedules. She could see that some things had already been crossed out. Flash and Spike must've already taken care of a few things on the list. It was still pretty long, though, even by Twilight's standards, which was really saying something.

It looked like she might have some free time later today. Maybe she would go out for little bit. After her… incident… she'd been avoiding others except for her friends. Everypony else seemed to get nervous around her, for understandable reasons. Even her own family, Shining Armor and Cadance included, seemed a bit unnerved when they were in her presence. But she occasionally went outside regardless. She needed to get out from time to time, if only to stretch her legs.

She headed over to the door after calling out to tell Spike that she was going to run a few errands, taking her to-do list with her. The sun outside was as bright as always, shining over all of Equestria with its brilliant glow. She looked over the list and went for the first thing that wasn't crossed out. She had to go see Applejack about catering for a party that Pinkie Pie was going to throw in a few days. She didn't know why Pinkie was planning this party, but she didn't really question it. She'd learned not to question Pinkie's logic. It was better for her sanity that way.

Rolling up the list, she headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her back. She turned, and saw nothing but Ponyville and a few of its inhabitants walking about, running their own errands. That feeling just now, though… it was… familiar. Like she had encountered its source before.

She shook her head. It was probably nothing. She continued on down the road, shrugging off what had just happened. But despite her attempts to ignore it, she couldn't shake the feeling that somepony – or something – was watching her.

Something… familiar…

-o-

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

The sound of water dripping from the stalactites on the cave ceiling above was the only thing that permeated the dense darkness of the cavern. The silence was eerie, enough to send chills down one's spine.

A small light began to flare to life. A dark unicorn stallion sneered as he stood from where he had been lying, his horn glowing with barely enough light to allow him to see his bleak surroundings. Where was he? How had he gotten here? And why did his magic feel so weak? Whatever the reason, he needed – no, demanded – answers. He looked around briefly, then headed down through the dark corridor.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Those infernal droplets were beginning to irritate him. His frighteningly unnatural eyes held a look of agitation. He shook his head and continued forward. He tried to recall what happened before he woke up in this strange place. A bright light. A young unicorn mare with pure white eyes.

It all soon hit him like a landslide. He had been defeated by that insolent little mare. But how? His magic was the most powerful in all of Equestria! The only one with power that could surpass his own was his mentor, but that mare didn't use dark magic. It was something else entirely. It was pure light. The perfect contrast to the dark magic that he normally used.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

He glared up at the ceiling. He was tempted to blast the stone above to stop that nuisance sound, but he knew better. Doing that would likely cause the entire cavern to collapse. Even his magic wasn't strong enough to keep a mountain from crushing his body into the dirt.

"Annoying," he muttered to himself.

"I know, right?" inquired a voice from behind. The dark stallion turned, ready to fight, only to let his jaw drop at the sight of a wild amalgam of animals reclining on a sofa, playing a game of solitaire on a card table. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd notice me. I'm sorta hard to miss, you know."

"Who and what are you?" the stallion demanded, his horn flaring more brightly. The mismatched creature just laughed in response.

"Wow, you really are just too serious, aren't you?" he inquired in a mocking tone. "Relax. I'm no enemy of yours. In fact, I'd like us to be the best of bosom buddies! But not really."

"I asked you a question, creature!" the stallion shouted angrily.

"And you will soon have your answer, my student," said a loud, booming voice. Above them, a pair of blazing red eyes opened, glaring down at the both of them. The stallion and the mix-and-match creature looked up with very different expressions; the stallion with recognition and reverence, and the creature with a bored look.

"Oh, you again," the creature said with a yawn. "Here to chastise me again, old timer? I've heard all your speeches before."

"Show respect, beast!" the stallion exclaimed indignantly. "You are in the presence of the greatest sorcerer this world has ever seen and ever will see!"

"Calm yourself, my student," the voice replied. "You do not know of this one, but he is another of my students. His disrespect is very much to be expected. I have taught him the ways of chaos, just as I have taught you the ways of fear." The stallion did as he was instructed and backed away from the amalgam, who smirked cockily at him. "You are both required for a very sensitive task. That is why I had him transport you to safety, student. You must both find the one called the Red-Black Beast. He is yet another apprentice of mine, and is one of two chosen required to release me from my cursed prison."

"Consider it done, Master," the stallion said with a respectful bow.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the amalgam said as he picked his nose, pulling out his own brain and spinning it like a basketball before replacing it through his ear. "So, where do we find this 'Red-Black Beast' guy anyway?"

"He is within a mountain south of Equestria," the voice replied. "He is sealed within Mount Othrys." The students of the owner of the voice nodded, and were just about to leave. "One last thing…" The two followers turned to face their master. "In order to break the seal, you will need the Etna Key."

"And where is this key, Master?" the stallion inquired.

"It lies hidden in a village outside Canterlot. It dwells within Ponyville."


	2. Hunters

Flash Sentry hummed a happy tune as he walked through town, his saddlebags halfway filled with groceries and other items that Spike had told him they needed. He reached into one of his bags' pockets with his wing and pulled out the list that the baby dragon had given him. "Let's see…" Apparently, the next thing he had to do was go visit Sweet Apple Acres about that party that that pink mare called Pinkie Pie was planning on throwing in a few days. He needed to talk to Applejack about that. He believed that she was one of Twilight's friends, but he had never really been able to get to know her. Or any of Twilight's friends, for that matter. He supposed that this was as good an opportunity as ever.

After getting directions from some of the ponies around town, he eventually found the apple farm near the town's edge. It was a quaint little place, he thought. He had only been here once before, when he first came into town to act as Twilight's bodyguard. It was pretty hasty tour, back when the purple unicorn was still really shaken up about recent events.

He walked past the open gate and looked around at the humble farm. He personally wouldn't mind living in a place like this. It seemed like it was separated from the world and its troubles, completely free of all other problems. It was nice and peaceful, just the way he liked it.

He soon found Applejack bucking apple trees as he brother Big Mac carried the fallen apples away in a cart. He approached them and waved his hoof. "Hey!" he called.

Both Applejack and Big Mac perked up at that and saw the orange pegasus stallion walking over to them. Applejack grinned and said, "Well, howdy, Flash! Been a while since we last saw ya here. What brings ya to the farm?"

"Oh, I just need to ask you about catering for a party that your Pinkie Pie friend is planning," Flash explained. He then put on a curious look. "You two wouldn't happen to have any idea what this party is for, would you?"

"Nope," Big Mac replied with a shake of his head.

"Best thing to do is not question it," Applejack advised seriously. "Trust me. It'd prob'ly be better fer yer sanity not to wonder what's goin' on in that head o' hers."

Flash raised an eyebrow, but didn't question that. "Anyway, about the catering…"

"Oh! Right! We got that covered. We've got a whole line o' snacks planned fer the party. You can tell Pinkie not to worry none!"

"Got it," Flash said with a nod. He looked around at the trees for a second. "I've gotta say, you guys have a really nice farm here."

"Eeeyup," Big Mac stated proudly.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "We don't usually brag 'round here, but Sweet Apple Acres has got the best dang apples you'll ever eat! We've only got a hoofful of rivals in Equestria, and they just barely manage to match the fruits of our labors!"

Flash nodded again and eyed one of the trees. "You mind if I give apple-bucking a try?"

"You kiddin'?" the orange mare asked with a joking look. "Go right on ahead." The pegasus nodded and set his saddlebags on the ground, then headed for the nearest full apple tree.

-o-

Twilight tried not to make eye contact with anypony as she walked through town. That didn't mean that she didn't notice the nervous glances and the occasional spiteful glare sent her way. After a few months of this, she had grown used to it. The few who weren't afraid of her still accepted her. Even Rainbow Dash was willing to forgive her for what she had done, albeit a bit suspiciously at first.

She ignored the looks as best she could, but they were still rather biting. It served as a constant reminder of what she had done. And she believed that she needed that reminder. Otherwise, she might make the same mistakes again.

She soon came upon Sweet Apple Acres and sighed with a small smile. At least she knew that the Apple family would still welcome her as openly as ever. She walked past the gate and went off looking for Applejack, whom she found sitting on her rump, staring at several empty apple trees with a dumbfounded expression.

"Hey, AJ!" she greeted happily. She raised an eyebrow when the Earth Pony didn't respond. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Applejack stated truthfully. "Ah'm just a little in shock is all."

"What happened?"

"Flash happened."

"What?"

"Hey, Twilight!" called the voice of Flash Sentry from behind an apple tree. The pegasus flew over to the two mares with a grin on his face. "What brings you here?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I came to talk to Applejack about catering for Pinkie Pie's big party. Why're you here? And why is Applejack so stunned?"

"Catering?" Flash asked. "Huh. Must've forgotten to cross that off of your to-do list for you. I already took care of that. They're getting some things ready." Flash eyed Applejack for a moment. "As for what's wrong with her… I guess I'm better at apple-bucking than I thought."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, see, I asked if it'd be okay if I tried bucking apples. AJ and Big Macintosh agreed. I started about ten minutes ago. I think I cleared about two acres already, but I'm not sure."

Twilight's jaw almost hit the ground. Applejack had been working this farm all her life, and she could only do about one acre an hour. Flash once said that he was the fastest trainee in the boot camp that he went to for training as a Royal Guard, but this proved that he was almost as fast as Rainbow Dash! "Did you fly at all?" Twilight inquired.

"No," the pegasus colt answered. "I just did was Applejack was doing. I just bucked the trees and headed for the next one."

Applejack shook her head, apparently trying to get over her shock. She suddenly looked like she had a joyful realization. "Shoot, if I'd known you were such a natural at apple-buckin', I'da hired you a long time ago! You just saved us at least two or three hours o' work today!"

Flash chuckled. "Sorry, but I've already got a full-time job. Besides, I think it's about time I got those groceries back to the library." He headed over to get his saddlebags when they suddenly levitated in the air sparkling with familiar purple magic.

"I've got that," Twilight said with slight smirk a giggle. She placed it on Flash's back, and the pegasus gave an appreciative nod. "You go on back, Flash. I'll take care of everything else from here."

"You got it," Flash said with nod as he turned to leave the farm. Twilight watched as he walked away, something Applejack easily took notice of.

"You _really_ got it, Twi," she joked with a little chuckle. "You got it bad."

Twilight blushed at that statement and gave the orange mare a flustered look. "What? N-no, I don't!" Applejack laughed at Twilight's embarrassment as the purple unicorn rolled her eyes and walked away. That was one more joke she could add to the ever-growing list of times that he friends had teased her about having a crush on Flash Sentry. She knew for a fact that she didn't.

-o-

Three pairs of eyes watched from the shadows as ponies walked by, going about their daily lives as though everything was normal. The owners of those eyes hissed as one pony in particular trotted by. "There!" one voice said in a deep tone. "That one! That's the pony we hunt! Lead us to Etna Key!"

"Yesss," said a second, smoother, raspier voice. "Hunt. Bite. Burn. Make pony talk."

A third voice laughed gleefully. "Fun! We have fun hunting!"

"Yes," the first voice replied. "We have fun." With that, the eyes sunk deeper into the shadows, disappearing altogether, but not letting their target out of sight for even a moment. They would certainly have fun stalking the pony. They will definitely have even more fun chasing the pony.


	3. Monsters and Masters

Twilight whistled a little tune as she walked through Ponyville, keeping her mind off of the looks she got from the other ponies as she trotted through town. She levitated her to-do list in front of her. She had already taken care of most of what was on it. She had spoken to Rarity about decorations, had Rainbow Dash and the other weather ponies agree to keep the weather nice on the day of the party, made sure that Fluttershy would have her animals ready for a petting zoo (Pinkie Pie's idea), and had given the local copier the details of the invitations that were to be made and delivered to everypony in town. The unicorn sighed at that last one. Why Pinkie didn't just meet with the local newspaper to have her big party advertised for everypony to see, she had no idea.

The rolled down the list to the last thing she needed to do. She now had to go talk to Pinkie Pie about the remaining details for the party. After that, she'd have the rest of the day to herself. With a nod, she rolled up the list and stored it away in her saddlebag and made her way to Sugarcube Corner. All the way, however, she felt as though she was being watched by someone. And it wasn't the other ponies in the town.

-o-

A trio of pairs of eyes followed the pony that they had been sent to find with readiness glinting in each eye. The pony trotted obliviously through the town, past others until finally arriving at the destination, the town library where Twilight Sparkle made her home.

"O-o-oh!" said a raspy voice. "This make it better! We get two preys for one!"

"Yes, yes," said a deep, throaty voice. "We get Key, and little unicorn! We get double rewarded!"

"Burn them?" said a third, stuttering voice said. "Have playtime, yes?"

"Yes, playtime," the deep voice replied with a heavy chuckle. "We play with ponies. Make ponies talk. Bring unicorn to masters."

"Fun!" the raspy voice said excitedly. The owners of those all followed the pony with gleeful grins. They were going to have fun soon.

-o-

Spike sighed in boredom as he went through his portion of the big to-do list. There was little else to do around lately, and most of the things on the list had already been crossed out, thanks to efficiency with which Twilight and Flash seemed to work with. The two ponies had cleared a good two thirds of the list off. Just when he finally came to something that wasn't crossed out, he heard the sound of the front door opening.

"Hey, Spike!" called the voice of Flash Sentry. "I'm back! I've got the groceries!"

"Just put them in the kitchen!" Spike called back. "I'll sort them out later!"

"You got it," Flash replied as he headed for the kitchen and began dropping things off onto the nearest counter. He left the kitchen then and headed into the main library to look around for a little while. He wasn't really that big a reader. He never really had the time for it, plus his own general lack of interest in literature. Twilight had been trying to get him to read a few of her favorites, and some other popular ones that she had. It turns out that he's very good at procrastinating.

As he walked, he heard what sounded like something banging against the front door. When he went to investigate, the door practically exploded as a huge form charged in. He only barely managed to avoid being tackled by the massive beast that had broken into the building. The creature rolled across the floor until it hit the far wall and scrambled to its feet. Flash stared at the beast before him with wide eyes.

It had the body of huge, bulky lion with crimson eyes and huge teeth that looked sharper than razors. Its tail was hissing snake with beady red eyes, and on its back was the head of a… goat? Silly as that may have looked at first, Flash easily saw the malice that burned in the goat head's own red eyes. Whatever this thing was, it meant business.

"Okay," the pegasus said as he took a few careful steps back. "Wasn't expecting company today." Suddenly, the lion head opened its mouth and spat out a stream of white-hot fire at the young stallion, who yelped in surprise as he flapped his wings to evade the fire. He flew off to the left and hovered there, staring at the burning ruin that was once a bookshelf. "Oh, Twilight won't be happy about that."

"Flash!" Spike called as he ran down the stairs. "What the hay is-?" The baby dragon froze the instant he saw the huge lion-snake-goat-hybrid monster. "Uh… I'll just go do a… thing." He immediately sprinted back upstairs then, but was blocked when the monster pounced up onto the stairs in front of him. The young dragon chuckled nervously. "Er, nice kitty?" The beast roared at him, and raised its paw to swat him away, but it was suddenly tackled by an orange blur, throwing the creature off balance and tumbling down the stairs past Spike.

"Spike, go get Twilight!" Flash ordered. "I'll hold off Fluffy here!" Spike nodded unquestioningly and sprinted off to find the purple unicorn mare. Flash returned his focus to the beast, which was already back on its feet and glaring at him with hatred and an unsettling hunger. "Right. Hold him off. I didn't really think this one through." The lion snarled at him. "Problem, Fluffy?"

"Pony!" the lion head growled in a deep baritone voice, catching Flash completely off guard. "We hunt you! You tell us where Key is! You give us Key!"

Flash just stared at the beast for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Wait, key? What key?"

The goat head bleated angrily. "Etna Key!" it shouted. "You tell us where Etna Key is! Then we eat you!"

"Well, that's inviting," the orange pegasus replied. "I've never even heard of an Etna Key before. What makes you think I know where it is?"

"Mastersss say you know!" the tail-snake hissed. "Tell usss!"

"Masters?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow. "Who-?" Before he could finish his question, the monster charged at him faster than before, its lion's maw open and burning. He was only barely able to evade the attack, flying off to the right and hitting the ground harder than he had intended. He looked back up at the beast, which had jumped down from the stairs and landed with a loud _thud_, the wooden floor cracking under the monster's weight. Flash took several steps back as the monster approached him, impatience evident in its infernal gaze.

"You tell us where is Etna Key!" the lion head roared furiously. "You don't tell us, and we kill you! Eat your heart!"

"You're not exactly inspiring cooperation here, you know that?"

The monster roared angrily again and once more charged at the orange pegasus, who braced himself for the attack. Just before the beast could tackle him – or worse – its heads glowed purple for a split second, and it collapsed right in front of him, all three heads snoring loudly.

"Flash!" called the voice of Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn mare, followed by Spike, galloped over to the colt, who released a sigh of relief and sat down with a relieved grin. "Are you all right? Spike said you were in trouble, but he didn't say anything about a chimera!"

"A chimera, huh?" Flash replied with a curious look. "Well, that sure sounds a lot more respectable than 'Fluffy.'"

"How can you joke about something like this!?" Twilight shouted at him. "If Spike hadn't found me at Sugarcube Corner, and if I hadn't been able to cast that sleeping spell on the chimera, you would've been…" She trailed off. Flash didn't need her to finish. He knew what she was going to say. He was about to apologize when she spoke again. "What's a chimera doing here anyway? What did it want?"

"It said something about something called the 'Etna Key,'" Flash answered as he stood back up. "I don't know what the Etna Key is, but it seemed to think that I knew where it was. It also said something about having masters, but it didn't say much else."

"Etna Key?" Twilight thought out loud. She turned to the chimera for a few moments, then faced Spike, who was already cleaning up the remains of the bookshelf that the chimera had destroyed. "Spike, write a letter to the princess. She may know what this Etna Key is and what it's for." The baby dragon saluted and hurried to do as he was told. Twilight turned back to the chimera, then to Flash. "Think you can help me get this thing out of here and into the Everfree? I really don't want it waking up in my house."

"Sure thing."

As the two ponies dragged the chimera out of library and back to the Everfree Forest, Twilight's mind kept going back to this Etna Key that Flash had mentioned. What was it? What was it the key to? And who were the beast's masters? She was beginning to have a _very_ bad feeling in her gut. And that feeling was rarely wrong.


	4. A Meeting With Chaos

Spike stood at the side of Princess Celestia as Flash Sentry began pacing impatiently. The Princess of the Sun had only arrived a few minutes ago, and had instructed Twilight to gather the other Elements of Harmony. The white alicorn was silent, a contemplating look on her face. Neither Spike nor Flash could tell what she was thinking, but they had both agreed that likely had something to do with the Etna Key, or, at the very least, the chimera's masters. She clearly knew something. Hopefully, she'd be able to explain what was going on.

Soon, Twilight returned to the library, followed by the rest of the Mane 6. The purple unicorn immediately made her way to the princess and said, "I brought the others and told them all what happened, like you asked."

Celestia nodded in acknowledgement. "Very good, Twilight," she said in calm, yet worried, tone. "You all know about the attack on the library. On Flash Sentry. The chimera that had attacked was after something called the Etna Key."

"Twilight told us 'bout that," Applejack replied. "What can ya tell us this Etna Key thing?"

The princess put on yet another contemplating look before sighing rather heavily. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about it. All I know is that it is a key to an ancient seal that was formed long before I was born."

"Do you have any idea where we might be able to find it?" Twilight inquired.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dahs said. "We need to find that thing before that chimera's bosses do! Whatever they're planning can't be good!"

"I haven't the slightest clue where it might be hidden," Celestia answered. "However… there is a rumor of a tome written by Starswirl the Bearded that contains information on every legendary artifact ever crafted in Equestria. It may have the information we seek."

"Uh, with all due respect, Princess," Twilight spoke up, "I've studied all of Starswirl's texts. Not one of them had any mention of anything called the Etna Key."

"That is because there is only one copy of this tome," the princess explained. "Unfortunately, it has been lost to the ages. Nopony has ever found it. Not even me."

"Oh, oh, I have something to say!" Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping about excitedly.

"Pinkie, darling, now really isn't the time for your nonsense," Rarity chastised the pink earth pony.

Pinkie grinned almost mischievously. "You're right. Who cares about some silly old secret passageway in the library anyway?"

"Wait," Twilight interrupted. "What? Secret passageway?"

"Yep! I checking out the burned up part of the library, and I guess I stepped on a switch or pulled a lever or something, because part of the wall opened up!" The pink mare pointed a hoof over at the wall by the burned area, where, sure enough, a door leading to a downward staircase was open.

Twilight just stared at it, slack-jawed. She shook her head in disbelief. "_How_ do I not notice these things!?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe you just don't look around enough?" Pinkie suggested, earning her a glare from the purple unicorn, to which she simply grinned.

Celestia approached the door and looked down the stairway, her eyes narrowed. She looked around the inside of the doorway, and she gasped quietly when she spotted something. "Wait," she muttered to herself. "Twilight, come here for a moment." The young mare came over to her mentor's side, a curious look in her eyes. Celestia pointed to a strange mark on the wall beyond the doorway. It was simple star with spiral in the center. Twilight recognized it immediately.

"Th-that's the mark of Starswirl the Bearded!" Twilight exclaimed in amazement. "I've seen it in all of his books! What's it doing here?"

"Maybe this used to be _his_ library?" Fluttershy suggested. "It has been said that this tree house has been around even longer than all of Canterlot."

"Ah bet that book ya mentioned is down there!" Applejack theorized to the princess, who nodded.

"There's only one way to find out," the alicorn replied as she took the first steps down the stairs. Twilight and the others followed, Spike on her back and Flash by her side.

The stairway was a spiral staircase, and seemed to go down for quite a ways. Twilight immediately took notice of this. It was already going much further down than the basement where she usually kept her lab equipment and personal books. She noticed both Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry seemed to be getting a tad fidgety as well. Fluttershy especially looked uncomfortable. That made sense, she assumed. Most pegasi don't like going so far underground.

However, Flash seemed more distracted than uncomfortable, like he was lost in thought. Curious, she nudged him slightly. When he turned to her, she asked, "Is something wrong? You're quieter than usual."

The orange pegasus shook his head. "I'm fine. I guess. I really don't know. I just…" He hesitated, then sighed in exasperation. "I don't know where it's coming from, but I'm getting a… weird feeling. Like something's just… off." Twilight gave him a questioning look. "Look, it's just… weird, all right? That's all."

The unicorn mare eyed him worriedly, then looked over at Spike, who simply shrugged. It wasn't like Flash to be so tense. He was usually always chatting and making wisecracks. She had gotten used to his smart-alecky jokes and carefree demeanor. It had helped to deal with her… past actions. Seeing him so silent was… unsettling, to say the least.

The ponies and dragon continued down the stairway, which was beginning to get darker and darker. Celestia, Twilight, and Rarity used their magic to light the way as they all headed down. Fluttershy was practically clinging onto a rather irritated-looking Rainbow Dash, who didn't make any complaints about it. Even the bravest of the eight ponies and one dragon were starting to get nervous because of this darkness.

They eventually reached a pair of large double doors with a torch on either side, plus one above it. The doors had a plaque mounted on them, looking as though it had somehow been grafted into place by some powerful magical spell. On the plaque was written several lines of bizarre, stylized symbols. Celestia eyed the plaque analytically as Twilight approached her.

The young unicorn studied the plaque's inscriptions, but couldn't make sense of it in any way. It looked like some kind of other language that she didn't know anything about. Was it foreign? Or was it some ancient, long-dead dialect from Equestrian history? She was just about to ask the princess about when Flash Sentry suddenly spoke up again.

"'May this gate and lock prevent unknowing thieves,'" he said, "'who do not know what lies beyond. If victory the endless darkness achieves, then all the world that we know will be gone.' That's sounds kind of depressing."

Twilight stared at the pegasus for a few disbelieving moments. "Flash, you can read that?"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I can. It's plain Equestrian, isn't it?"

"It's not," Celestia spoke up, looking at Flash with narrowed, yet curious, eyes. "It's an ancient language known only to the alicorns of over two thousand years ago, long before my own time. Even I cannot read this."

"Hold on a second!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she zipped into the conversation. "How can Flash read it if you of all ponies can't?"

"I'm not sure," the sun princess admitted, not taking her gaze off of Flash. "Clearly, there is something more going on than any of us know." She was silent for a moment. "Flash, is there anything more on that plaque that you can read for us?"

The pegasus hesitated for a moment, then studied the plaque again. "Ah, a lot of it is kind of hard to read. But… 'The Key will open the mountainous lock, and free…'" He trailed off, and sighed. "Sorry, Princess, but it's illegible after that."

"'Free'?" Twilight inquired curiously. "Free what?"

"Oh, maybe it's a free volley ball!" Pinkie Pie suggested. "Or maybe a giant cupcake! O-o-oh, even better! A cake the size of a mountain!" She was about to give more guesses as to what was going to be freed, but Applejack slapped her hoof over the pink mare's mouth.

"Ah really doubt it's any o' those things," the farmer said in a serious and rather cynical tone.

Twilight thought on it for several moments. "That part about a key must be referring to the Etna Key," she theorized. "Maybe this door is what the Key is meant to open?"

"Perhaps," Celestia replied. "But I don't see any kind of lock anywhere on this door, magical or otherwise. And besides, the plaque mentions a 'mountainous lock.'"

"Well, I say we try to open this thing anyway," Flash suggested. "It's better than just sitting here on out flanks and guessing what's what."

"I'm with Flash on this!" Rainbow stated in complete agreement. "Let's just bust that door down and see what's behind it!" The cyan pegasus was just about to charge straight into the door when Rarity took hold of her tail with her magic.

"Now, now, Rainbow, settle down," the fashionista said in a chastising tone. "We don't know what's beyond that door. For all we know, it could be some kind of devious trap. Didn't the plaque mention something about thieves?"

"Yeah, it did," Flash answered as he walked closer to the door. "It probably has some kind of defense. Something that keeps unwanted visitors out." He reached up to the door with his hoof, planning to test it with a light shove. As soon as his hoof touched the door, however, the plaque suddenly glowed with a blinding white light. Everypony shouted in surprise and tried to shield their eyes from light until it died down just as quickly as it had come to life. When they looked again, the plaque was gone, and the doors were opened inwards very slightly.

"Okay," Flash said with a dumbfounded look. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Wh-wh-what just happened?" Fluttershy stammered out fearfully.

Twilight looked back and forth between Flash and the now-opened door, completely dumbstruck as the princess spoke. "The door must've reacted when Flash touched it," Celestia said. "First his comprehension of a dead language, and now this?" The white alicorn looked at the shocked Flash Sentry with both curiosity and a very slight level of suspicion. "Clearly, you must have something to do with all of this."

"What?" Flash responded with wide eyes. "No! I don't know what's going on! This is all just as new to me as it is to the rest of you!"

"Calm down, Flash Sentry," the princess replied. "I'm not accusing you of anything." She turned away from him, facing the door again. "I suppose it's time we saw what this door is hiding." With that, she took point and pushed the doors open, using her horn to light the darkened chamber beyond. The others followed her into the room, where the princess brightened her horn a little more, creating a few small orbs of light that floated off towards the ceiling before stopping in midair, lighting the room.

"Oh, man," Rainbow said in slack-jawed awe. "This place is HUGE!"

It was true. It was likely the largest room any of them had ever seen. The walls were made from marble with gold lining along the edges of the floor, four massive, elegantly decorated pillars towering above to hold the ceiling in place. Rarity especially seemed awestruck by the grand chamber's beautiful design.

"This place is…" Twilight began, trailing off.

"It's absolutely fabulous!" Rarity proclaimed. "It's such a waste for it to sit in the dingy old dark like it must've been for whoever knows how long!"

"What's that?" Spike spoke up, pointing over to a small podium in the center of the room.

Just when Twilight was about to answer, a painfully familiar laugh echoed throughout the chamber. "I was wondering when you ponies would show up!" a recognized male voice spoke. There was bright flash for an instant. "I was getting so bored of waiting for you all! How have you all been?"

The ponies and dragon all stared with wide eyes at the one who had appeared in front of them, lounging in the air with his mismatched wings flapping lightly. Before them was none other than the draconoquess Discord, a smug little grin planted firmly on his face.


	5. Madness Born of Darkness

The ponies and dragon all stared at the draconoquess with wide eyes as Discord laughed mockingly at their expressions. Celestia was the first to recover from her shock, charging her horn with magic and preparing for an attack. She scowled at the spirit of chaos. "Discord! How are you here and why?"

"How?" Discord replied with an almost offended look. "Please, Celestia. I'm the spirit of chaos! I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. As to why, well…" He vanished suddenly, then reappeared, stretching his arms around both Twilight and Flash's neck, pulling them in close to his chest and making Spike tumble off of Twilight's back and onto the floor. "It all has to do with these two right here."

"What?" Twilight said as both she and Flash pushed away from Discord. "What are you talking about?"

Discord leaned back in the air in a lounging position. "Oh, now that would be telling. I'm no tattle-tale!"

"You'd better tell us!" Rainbow Dash shouted as flew over in front of the draconoquess, an impatient look on her face. "What do you want with Twilight and Flash?"

Discord chuckled in mischievous amusement. "It's not what _I _want with them," he said. "It's what my 'boss' wants." He made air quotes with his fingers at the word _boss_.

"Wait a minute," Applejack spoke up. "_You_ have a boss?"

"Please don't remind me," Discord said as he rolled his eyes. He turned to Celestia again. "Look, Tia, I've always hated the idea of being subservient to someone other than myself. Plus, what the big guy has planned isn't really my type of thing. So, I'm here to cut you a deal."

"A deal?" Celestia inquired skeptically with one eyebrow raised.

"Why in the world would we ever make a deal with the likes of you?" Rarity asked. "You threw all of Equestria into complete anarchy the last time you were freed!"

"I know!" Discord said indignantly. "And you all ruined it! Anyway, at least hear me out before you turn me to stone again."

The Princess of the Sun glared at Discord for a moment before sighing. "Fine. What is it that you want?"

Discord grinned at that. "Here's the deal: I'm going to help you to stop the guy that you call the Accursed One. I can't give you all the particulars of his plan, but I can give you a hint as to where to go, what to do, etc, etc. First off, there's a book on that podium over in the middle of the room. Take a look at it. Second, the Etna Key is much closer than you think."

"Wait, what?" Flash asked. "How do you know about the Key?"

"Who do you think sent that chimera?"

"That was _you_!?" Twilight shouted.

Discord raised his hands in a way to tell the young mare to calm down. "It's not like it was _my_ idea. Personally, I would've just cast a spell to make little Flashy here cooperate with us. But I was outvoted."

"'Us'?" Applejack parroted. "You mean there's more followers of that Accursed One feller?"

"Sorry, but I've already said too much on that particular matter," the draconoquess replied.

"Can you at least tell us what you get out of this deal of yours?" Celestia inquired.

"Oh, you'll find out. Eventually." Discord looked down at his left wrist and suddenly slapped his cheek with his other hand. "My goodness, would you look at the time! I've gotta go!" Before anyone could respond to that, his body suddenly exploded into a burst of confetti, leaving everypony confused and wondering just what the heck Discord might've had planned.

"Does anypony else think we're in for another 'storm of chaos' soon?" Applejack asked. "Ah don't think the orchard could stand another chocolate milk rain."

"Oh, but chocolate rain would be great!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "If anypony's ever thirsty, all they'd have to is look up with their mouth open! That chocolate rain was sooooooooo good!"

"Focus, darling," Rarity replied to the excited pony.

"We can't trust Discord!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "He'll stab us in the back the first chance he gets! Heck, he'll probably make us stab _each other_ in the back!"

"We know, Rainbow," Twilight said to the other mare. She and Celestia took point as the group headed for the podium in the center of the chamber, upon which a book was resting, just as Discord had said. "But what he's told us so far is all we really have to go on. And this book might just have the answers we need."

Celestia nodded in reluctant agreement. "Twilight is right. Discord is unpredictable and untrustworthy, but he usually knows what he's talking about. And if he really does have a master of some kind, then it actually is very likely that he'll rebel against that master." That said, she lifted the book with her magic. It wasn't a truly unique tome. It had a hard brown cover with the mark of Starswirl the Bearded on the front. She opened the book to the first page with writing in it. The hoofwriting was incredibly old-fashioned. It was so old, in fact, that Celestia was the only who could make sense of it. That being discovered fairly quickly, she began reading.

_This is the tome in which I, Starswirl the Bearded, shall record the traits of all magical artifacts in the history of Equestria, from benevolent items such as the Elements of Harmony, to more… disturbing pieces, such as the Alicorn Amulet, and several other unique, fascinating, and sometimes even dangerous trinkets. I must warn whoever reads this that some of these entries are likely not for the faint of heart._

The first entry continued on for about two more pages. It was a basic introduction from one of Starswirl's many books, Twilight thought, and was fairly long-winded. Celestia went through the pages, through every entry, each one regarding a different artifact. Some of them sounded like they'd be really helpful, like a bracelet that made an obedient doppelganger of the wearer, and a necklace that allowed the wearer brief visions of the future. There were, of course, some things that were… frightening to think about, such as a tiara that erases all sense of free will from the wearer, turning them into a mindlessly obedient slave, and hoof-worn ring that makes pegasi faster and stronger, but with an extremely addictive side effect that would render the user a hopeless vegetable should the ring ever be removed.

Eventually, Celestia stopped in one of the last few pages. The writing seemed to have gotten a tad sloppier for some reason. The princess narrowed her eyes at the words and read again.

_I have had the same spine-chilling dream every night of this week now. A terrifying figure made from some shadowy inferno appears to me in my sleep every night, its crimson eyes glowing with hate and malice. It always speaks to me, telling me of some ancient relic that it only refers to as "the Key." I am unsure what this "Key" might be, but a unicorn does suffer the same repeating nightmare each night without some reason behind it. I will attempt to discover just what this Key is, and will use this tome as my journal on the subject._

_…_

_I have just awakened from that nightmare once again. I cannot fathom why this is happening to me specifically, but I have at least learned the full name of the artifact that I have been researching: it is apparently called the "Etna Key." So says that black flame at least. It would seem that this Key is meant to break a seal that has existed almost as long as all of ponykind. I will continue to find new clues on this relic as soon as possible._

_…_

_Those blasted nightmares will be the death of me someday. Every night, I suffer them. But I am still learning more about the Etna Key from them, as well as from my own research when I am not sleeping, something I have come to fear nowadays. The Etna Key has its origins in the land called Hellas, the homeland of minotaurs, centaurs, and the birthplace of the pegasi. My apprentice Clover the Clever and I are preparing to travel there now. Perhaps I will find answers from the natives there._

_…_

_Clover and I are in Hellas now. We have been here for four days now. Everyone I speak to about the Etna Key either glares at me until I leave or changes the subject. I am getting the feeling that we are not welcome here. Clover has admitted to feeling the same. Regardless, we must persist. The Key has, regrettably, become an obsession of mine. I need to know what it is, and what it will release. I must know._

_…_

_The dreams persist. They never leave me. The Key. I must find the Key. The dreams always say that the Key is close by, but everywhere I look, everyone I speak to, I find nothing. The Key is here. I know it. I must find the Key._

_…_

_Clover says that we must leave soon. She believes that I am becoming too attached to this search. What a fool! She does not know what I see every night! I see it every time I close my eyes now. The black fire and its blazing red eyes, its grand, booming voice that crushes my ears, its sense of authority. I must find the Key. That blasted, illusive Key. It is always near, but always just beyond my reach. I must have it. I must. It is the only way._

_…_

_Clover pleaded that we go home, back to Equestria. No… we cannot leave. Not yet. I have finally found a genuine lead to the Etna Key. Clover has had it with her all along. I cannot let her know that I know. She would flee to the ends of the earth if she knew. I will have the Key. But Clover is strong, and true to her title. I will bide my time for now. She is not worthy of the Key. The voice says so._

_…_

_Sweet Mother, what have I done? I did exactly as I had planned: I bided my time, waited for the right moment. The instant Clover and I were somewhere no one would hear, I… sweet Mother Faust, I am unforgivable. She did not even have that accursed Key! The voices stopped the moment the deed was done. I… I cannot live with myself knowing this. I left her where she lay, rotting in some forest countless miles from her home… I am evil._

_…_

_I have made my decision. I will do what must be done once I have finished and hidden this tome. This is to be my final entry. My final book. I can only hope that whoever finds this while in search of the Etna Key will fare better than I. You must embark upon this quest on your own. No one can help you. It is the way it must be. Otherwise, you will do to your companions what I have done to my own student. I am Starswirl the Bearded. These are my final words. I will do now the only thing I can do to even have a chance at restoring my shattered honor. Farewell, world._

"That was the last entry," Celestia said, a look of horror on her face. "Starswirl was corrupted somehow, driven mad by some force."

"The nightmares he described," Twilight added. "They… they sound just like the nightmares that I've been having. That black fire, and red eyes. That's the Accursed One. He was giving Starswirl those nightmares like he's doing with me now!"

"Starswirl said that he believed that Clover had the Key on her," Flash spoke up, "but when he…" He hesitated. "She… didn't have it. Could she have hidden it somewhere?"

"Maybe," Celestia replied. She turned to Twilight then. "It is evident that the Accursed One is after the Etna Key. It is very likely that the Key is what will release him upon the world again. From Starswirl's notes, you may likely find what you need in Hellas, the land just southeast of Equestria."

"Right," Twilight replied. She turned to her friends with a determined look. "All right, girls, get ready! We're going abroad!"

"B-but what about S-Starswirl's warning?" Fluttershy stuttered nervously.

"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed, giving an almost suspicious look to Twilight. "Those nightmares drove him crazy! Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"Rainbow!" Rarity said in a chastising tone.

"What? Twilight betrayed us before."

"And she made up for that!" Pinkie Pie said indignantly, wrapping a foreleg around Twilight's neck. "She would never forever do something like that again! Right, Twilight?"

The unicorn pushed Pinkie away a little. "Y-yeah. Never. I swear that I won't ever let it happen again." Rainbow didn't look the least bit convinced, but she didn't press the matter. She simply grunted and flew back a few feet. Twilight sighed and turned to Celestia. "We'll find the Etna Key, Princess. You have my word."

"And mine, too," Flash stated. Twilight was about to say something to argue that, but he cut her off. "Discord said that this has something to do with the both of us. It'd probably be a good idea for me to come along. Besides, I want answers just as much as you do."

"But-"

"Flash is right, Twilight," Celestia said in a slightly commanding tone. "He is highly trained, just as any other member of the Royal Guard. He may play a role that will greatly aid you in your quest." Twilight just gave a defeated sigh and nodded. "Also, I suggest that you take Spike along as well. I would like to be kept informed about how your quest is proceeding as go."

"You got it!" Spike said as he stood straight and gave a salute to the princess.

The Princess of the Sun nodded. "The Accursed One poses a dire threat, not just to Equestria, but to the entire world. We must ensure that he does acquire the Etna Key, and that he is not allowed to roam freely in the world. The fate of the entire world now rests in your hooves. Go and prepare for your new quest. You are to head to Hellas as soon as you are all able."

The seven ponies and one dragon nodded to the princess and hurried upstairs, while Celestia remained in the basement for a few moments more. She reread the final few entries in Starswirl's last book, and recalled what Twilight had told her of her dreams. The princess closed the book. She knew that reading it would only make her more worried for her pupil. She sighed as she placed the book back on its podium. She needed to have faith in Twilight. She needed to believe that her student, somepony who had become like a daughter to her, would be able to resist the powers of Darkness. Neither of them had proven completely reliable on such matters. All the princess could do was hope for the best.

-o-

Within the darkened caves, a shadowy blaze wrapped itself around a decrepit throne of shattered gems and crushed stone. The inferno's burning eyes narrowed at the ruin it had once called its palace, which had long-since been buried over the millennia. The Accursed One raised his hate-filled eyes to a single source of light, far above his fiery form. A small crack let the light pour in, a symbol of hope in the dreary cavern. He rose up to the crack, eyes glaring at the light it ushered in.

He used his dark magic, weaker than before, but still very powerful, to force the earth to close the tiny gap in his ceiling. The light cut off, descended back to his ancient throne, coiling around like a snake around a mouse. He let out a low, grumbling sound as he did this.

"Soon…"


	6. Welcome to Hellas

The sky was clear overhead. The sun shone brilliantly in the sea of blue above. There was a strong, but fairly gentle, wind blowing, propelling the airship forward. Twilight wandered on the deck as crewman went about doing their jobs as they normally would. Princess Celestia had chartered this ship, the _Sun's Blessing_, to take her and her friends to Hellas. The fastest way to get there was to fly, apparently. She was actually pretty excited. She had never been on a full-fledged airship before. Neither had most of the others, save for Rarity and Flash, the latter of whom had once been assigned to help guard a shipment of goods from Saddle Arabia.

She leaned on the railing of the left side of the ship – she couldn't remember whether that was starboard or port – and watched as mountains in the distance moved by. They had been sailing for two days now. Equestria and Hellas were further apart than she had first thought. She had noticed that the terrain had become gradually more mountainous and rocky. Most of the ground didn't look very fertile from where she observed.

"Admiring the view, lass?" a gruff tone spoke, making the young mare jump. An older unicorn stallion wearing a ship captain's uniform had joined her at the railing. His coat was light blue, a few shades darker than Rainbow Dash, and he had a graying mane that still had a few spots of yellow in it. His old green eyes betrayed a kind of elder adventurousness, like he knew what he was doing and could get it done with little to no help.

"Oh, hello, Captain Portside," Twilight greeted the elder pony. "Yes, I'm enjoying the sights. This is incredible. I've never been so high up in the sky before."

The captain chuckled lightly at that. "Well, it's a pleasure to know that my ship will be your first to explore the skies with. Well, disregarding the fact that we have a set destination of course."

"Yeah," Twilight replied. "Um, would you mind if I took a look at your map for a moment?"

"Not at all, my dear." Portside's horn glowed a bluish hue as a map levitated out of his jacket pocket. Twilight took hold of it with her own magic and unfolded it. The map detailed a large image of the land of Hellas, including major cities and seven locations for them to dock, one of which being Hellas' capital city of Aegis.

Twilight observed the map for a few moments before identifying their current location. "So… I believe we're in the Ares Mountain Range, right?" The captain nodded his confirmation. "All right… It doesn't look like we have very far to go now. By the scaled measurements on the map, and the distance between these mountains and Aegis, we should be there by… sometime tomorrow morning, I suppose."

The captain gave another chuckle. "You're becoming a regular sailor already, Miss Sparkle. Keep it up, and I might have to put in a request with the princess to have you join my crew."

"Um… thanks. Anyway, we shouldn't have trouble docking. The princess said that she had sent a message via magic to alert the minotaur High Lord Bravehoof about our arrival." The captain nodded his acknowledgement, and Twilight gave the captain his map back, and began to explore the ship again. The crew was nice enough, though a hoofful of them seemed to be rather wary of her. Whether it was because they weren't fond of newcomers or if they had heard about… her, she couldn't be sure.

She wandered on the deck, occasionally bumping into her friends as she did. Rainbow Dash was helping the crew keep up the ship's speed and status by helping the pegasi crewman to maintain a stable wind current, while Applejack helped the non-pegasi keep up maintenance on the deck. Fluttershy and Rarity were mostly trying to keep to themselves – Fluttershy for obvious reasons and Rarity because she found most of the sailors to be rather… unclean, to say the least – but some of the sailors had decided to shirk work to try and talk to them, much to the mares' chagrin. Pinkie Pie just bounced around as usual, getting laughs out of the crew wherever she went. Spike was doing cleaning around the ship, whistling a little tune as he did so.

Eventually, she found Flash Sentry at the foredeck, looking over the rail with his head on his forelegs. She went over to him and stood by his side. "Hey, Flash," she greeted him. He didn't respond. Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, Flash?" Still no reply. "Flash? Hello?"

Suddenly, the pegasus vomited over the rail, catching Twilight completely off guard. She cringed at the gargled sounds that he made the contents of his stomach poured out of his throat. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and turned to Twilight. "Oh, hey," he said with an awkward smile, his face a sickly green hue. "Sorry about that. I get airsick. Very easily."

Twilight stared at him in silence for a few moment, then began giggling. "A pegasus who gets airsick? Really?"

Flash snickered as well. "Yeah, it is kind of stupid. I'm fine when I'm flying on my own, though, thank goodness. It's just when I'm on ships like this one. The rocking motion, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I get it. It's just strange." She leaned over the rail again as Flash lowered his head back on top of his forelegs. They both watched the skyline, watching the mountainous, yet elegant, terrain trail away. The mare sighed in some admiration. The creatures of Hellas certainly had a beautiful home. "I wonder what the people of Hellas are like."

"From what I've heard," Flash answered, "they're sort of rough. They're culture is predominantly based around battle, and they're not too fond of outsiders unless they're pegasi, who they welcome openly."

The unicorn looked at her friend with a slightly surprised expression. "Wow, Flash. You really seem to know a lot about Hellas."

"Why wouldn't I? It's the ancestral home of all pegasi. This is actually pretty exciting for me, visiting the homeland of my ancestors. I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy might feel the same-!" Suddenly, he cheeks bloated, and he opened his mouth to throw up over the railing again, to which Twilight actually giggled this time.

"You have a serious problem, you know that?" she said teasingly.

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny." Flash's reply only made Twilight giggle again, which, in turn, made Flash start to laugh a little.

From across the deck, Captain Portside smiled at the two younger ponies and shook his head with small laugh of his own. He made his way to his personal cabin, giving one last look to the two youths before he went inside. "Young love," he said to himself as he entered the cabin.

-o-

The darkness surrounded her completely in its infinity. She trotted through the void, unsure of where she was going. Where was she to begin with? What was this dark place? She asked herself the same questions over and over as she walked, trying to find some sort of answer. But there was nothing. Just cold, dark emptiness as far as the eye could see.

She could suddenly here a deep growl far behind her. She turned at the sound to see a blazing red light drawing closer to her. She took a step back at the sight as the light drew nearer and nearer. Eventually, the light split into two burning eyes flooded with hate and ill intent. She immediately turned and began galloping as fast as she could.

She ran the fastest she had ever ran before, but the eyes just kept coming closer and closer. She looked back once, and her eyes went wide when she saw that the red eyes chasing her now had a body of black flame. It drew ever closer until she tripped over seemingly nothing. She struggled to get back onto her hooves and faced the immense inferno again, fear obvious in her expression.

The blaze towered over her, its eyes narrowing. "Such delicious irony," it spoke in a deep, powerful, booming tone. "That irony will be the downfall of the Light. Bringer of both Light and Darkness. You will join with me." With that said, before she could say anything at all, the massive bonfire swirled around her, searing her coat, charring her flesh. Those crimson eyes only glared with the tiniest hint of amusement.

Twilight shot up screaming from her cot, waking up everypony in the same cabin as her. She was drenched in a cold sweat, gasping in terror as shook wordlessly. Her friends had quickly gathered around her, trying to calm her down. She pushed them away every time they tried talk to her, only telling them to go away, to leave her alone. Soon, somepony place a hoof on her shoulder, and she turned with wide, fear-filled eyes to see a calm look in the blue eyes of Flash Sentry.

"Twilight," he said in as gentle a tone as he could manage. He didn't say anything else. Everypony fell silent. The unicorn slowly began to calm down, and soon wrapped her forelegs around Flash, who flinched in surprise at the contact. He could hear Twilight sniffling on his shoulder. With no other real choice at the moment, he returned the hug, hoping it would help her calm down a bit.

Soon enough, she stopped crying, though her eyes were still watery. She released Flash and wiped her eyes. "Th-thank you," she muttered. "I'm sorry. I… I had a really bad dream."

"One of those nightmares again?" Spike asked worriedly. Twilight nodded somberly. "Well, don't worry, Twilight! We're here for you!"

"That's right!" Applejack confirmed with a hard nod. "We've stuck together since day one. We ain't gonna let anything happen to ya, sugar cube."

Twilight gave a small smile and nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, everyone. I… thank you."

"So… what was dream about?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"Dashie," Fluttershy said in quiet-but-firm tone.

"Come on! It was legitimate question!"

"That still doesn't excuse asking about it!" Rarity chastised the pegasus.

"It's okay," Twilight intervened. The others looked at her as she took a deep breath. "It was the same as usual. I was in a dark void, and I found the same pair of red eyes, like always. The Accursed One, I guess. But every dream I always hear some voice say something different. This time the voice said something about irony, and it called me a 'bringer of both Light and Darkness.' I don't have any idea what that means, though."

"Maybe it thought you were a nightlight?" Pinkie Pie suggested.

Twilight shook her head. "Somehow, I really doubt that, Pinkie."

Just then, somepony on the upper deck called out, "Aegis, in sight!" That got everyone's attention. They all hurried up to the upper deck and made their way to front end of the ship, where Captain Portside awaited them.

"There it is, lads and lasses," the captain said with grin. "Behold, the city of Aegis!"

They all stared in awe at the city ahead of them. It was twice the size of Canterlot, with countless pegasi and minotaurs walking in, out, and around the city. Its walls were a pristine white marble, roofs held up by beautifully carved pillars. They all were stunned by the grand city's scope and architecture. In the center of the city was a huge, temple-like castle where the Mane 6 and company could assume they would be meeting with High Lord Bravehoof. Rarity was practically salivating at the mere sight of the city, and even legitimately fainted, being caught by Spike before she hit the floor.

"This is…" Twilight struggled to find the words.

"Awesome," Rainbow stated quietly.

"Yeah… that."

The captain chuckled to himself. "All of you better get ready. We'll be docking soon." The younger ponies and baby dragon all nodded and headed off to prepare, all of them excited for different reasons.

-o-

On a balcony on the wall of the castle in the center of Aegis, a lone minotaur wearing a suit of bronze armor and long red cape stood with his hands behind his back, taking notice of the airship from Equestria. He snorted slightly. He was actually looking forward to finding out what these ponies were here for. Celestia's letter had been somewhat vague, save for the mention of a possibility of a threat to the entire world. Nothing was ever that simple with ponies for whatever reason.

"Sire," said a pegasus wearing full armor. "The party from Equestria will dock soon. Shall we escort them to the palace?"

The minotaur thought on it for a moment and turned, walking past the pegasus. "No. A team of guards and I will meet them personally. I want to know what Celestia wants."

"Of course, High Lord," the pegasus replied respectfully.

The minotaur made his way down the halls of the palace, ordering a small group of guards, consisting of both pegasi and minotaurs, to follow him. He had a feeling that something very… interesting was going to happen.

-o-

**Free imaginary cookies to anyone who can spot any references to Greek mythology from here on out, including this chapter (aside from minotaurs and pegasi of course). For example: can anyone tell me where I got the names "Hellas" and "Aegis" from?**


	7. The Etna Key

The _Sun's Blessing_ docked with no problem. The city guards eyed the group that was departing the vessel with suspicious glares that were especially harsh towards Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike. The Mane 6, Flash, and Spike stuck close together as a group of five minotaurs and four pegasi approached, all of them in full armor.

The minotaur in the lead stopped about five feet from them, his arms held behind his back, under the long red cape that he wore at his neck. He reminded them of Iron Will, the motivational speaker who had inadvertently turned Fluttershy into a bully for a week, except he had a darker coat, wore heavy-looking bronze armor, and his hair was more neatly groomed. He also had a dark beard around his chin and had a solid gold nose ring. He towered over the ponies and dragon with a serious expression on his face. He eyed Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"I take it you are the group that Celestia mentioned in her message?" he inquired in a deep, intimidating tone.

"Um… yes?" Twilight answered with a slight gulp. "Are you… High Lord Bravehoof?"

"I am," the minotaur replied with a snort. "You and your companions will come with me to the palace immediately."

"Oh," the unicorn responded. "Uh, okay. Lead the way, Your Lordship." Bravehoof snorted at that. "Something wrong?"

"Hmph." The minotaur simply turned and went ahead, his guards motioning for everyone else to follow. Twilight faced her friends, who all looked just as confused as she was by Bravehoof's manner. She could only shrug in response, and she and her friends followed their greeters to the palace.

As they walked, the Equestrians all watched the busy city in awe. Minotaurs and pegasi were everywhere, working stores, marching through the streets in heavy armor, minotaurs carrying huge crates and barrels from place to place, pegasi soaring through the sky and keeping the weather clear. In a word, it was metropolis that was even busier than Canterlot, but without a sense of superiority. Everybody in the city all seemed to treat each other with some level of respect that was just… uncanny.

"I must say, Mr. High Lord," Rarity spoke up, "Aegis is quite the city! Such elegance and civility! I'm almost jealous!"

Bravehoof snorted again. "This city was built to protect those who live within its walls, but to also feel welcoming. Hellas is a land of strife and conflict. This city has seen more refugees from war than you can fathom."

"W-war?" Fluttershy stuttered out.

"You need not fear, Wing-Sister," one of the pegasus guards said. "Hellas is at peace for now."

"'Wing-Sister'?" Twilight asked.

"It's an old pegasus term," Flash explained. "Pegasi in Equestria don't use it anymore, though. In old times, and in present-day Hellas, pegasi would refer to one another as 'Wing-Sister' or 'Wing-Brother' if they didn't know each other's names."

"So ya'll treat each other like family?" Applejack questioned.

The pegasus guard who had spoken narrowed his eyes at the earth pony. "In a way. We are all descended from the great Pegasus himself."

"?" Twilight asked.

"Not just any pegasus," Rainbow Dash chimed in. "_The _Pegasus. Legend says that he was born when an evil demon was beaten by a minotaur, and that he was the first of our kind. Personally, I think the whole thing is a load of baloney." The pegasus guards all glared at the cyan mare when she said that, all of them looking ready to take her down on the spot. "What?"

"Um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy whispered to her friend. "Maybe you shouldn't talk down about what they believe in. They look like they take older traditions very… seriously." She looked back at the guards, who were still glaring at Rainbow rather harshly. "Um… p-please forgive my friend, sirs. She-"

"Just make sure that she learns how hold her tongue soon," one of the guards said coldly. The yellow mare cringed at his tone and hid behind Rainbow.

"Geez," Spike muttered only just loud enough for Twilight to hear. "These guys really need to lighten up." Twilight shushed the young dragon quietly. "What?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued following Bravehoof and his guards. Suddenly, she stopped and looked over her shoulder at the roof of a nearby building.

"Something wrong, Twilight?" Flash asked, getting the mare's attention.

"I…" She looked back to where she had been looking. She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just… jumpy, I guess." Flash raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't press it. Twilight gave one last glance at that spot before shaking her head again and moving to catch up with the others. She had felt as though she was being… watched. It was probably nothing. Just her imagination, maybe.

-o-

The palace had looked magnificent from the outside. On the inside, it lived up to its outer walls. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all carved marble, just like most of the city, but the palace was covered with even more intricate carvings that were only possible with a minotaur's hands. The carvings depicting great moments from throughout the history of Hellas, from its earliest days to its most recent era. Most of it was legends from ancient times, and a lot of it had to do with war and violence that was mostly held between the pegasi and the minotaurs whenever they fought for dominance in the nation.

Even the windows on either side of the hall had their own stories drawn onto them. Each of them depicted famed heroes of both races and times of hardship in which the two species joined together for the sake of survival.

Along either side of the hall that the group was led through were statues of minotaurs and pegasi, each race standing opposite each other. Each statue was made from gold, a metal that was actually incredibly common in Hellas, and was sculpted in a way that had them in full armor and wielding spears. Bravehoof had said that this hall was built to symbolize both the alliance and the past transgressions between the two races.

Having learned that, Twilight got curious. "Um, High Lord, sir?"

"What is it?" Bravehoof replied gruffly.

The unicorn flinched at his tone somewhat. "Pardon me for asking, but how does government here work? Knowing about the… history between minotaurs and pegasi, you must have some kind of system that works for both races, right?"

The minotaur snorted. "I'm called the _High_ Lord for a reason. You'll get an idea of how our government works soon enough."

"Er, okay," Twilight responded in slight confusion. Had she brought up a touchy subject?

Silence ensued for a while after that, save for the little "oohs" and "ahs" that were given by the Mane 6, Flash, and Spike. Eventually, they entered a large room that resembled Celestia's throne room back in Canterlot to a certain degree, but it was larger and grander. At the end of the room were five thrones, the center one being a little bigger than the others. In the other four thrones, two pegasi and two minotaurs were sitting patiently, pegasi on the left, minotaurs on the right. They were all elders, but were in incredibly good shape for the apparent age. All of them held serious, no-nonsense expressions.

"Bravehoof," one of the pegasi said. "We have been waiting for you very patiently. Why have you ordered a meeting of the Council?"

"We have visitors from Equestria," the High Lord replied as he sat upon the center throne. "Princess Celestia sent me a message explaining that her protégé and few others would arrive and would require assistance." He narrowed his eyes at the ponies and dragon. "Although, she was not entirely clear as to why they would be coming. Care to explain, Equestrians?"

Five pairs of intense eyes focused on them. Even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were visibly nervous from those questioning glares. Twilight took a deep breath. "Well… we were sent to find a relic that we believe is somewhere in Hellas."

"And what might you be searching for, unicorn?" one of the old minotaurs asked.

"The Etna Key," Twilight replied.

Bravehoof's eyes widened slightly, while the four who were sitting at either side of him looked completely shocked and almost outraged. One of the old pegasi got off his seat and stormed over to Twilight. "How do you know of the Key? And what does Equestria want with it?"

"Hey, back off!" Rainbow exclaimed at the elder, who glared at her.

"Rainbow, please," Twilight said, waving her hoof to tell the pegasus mare to calm down. The purple mare cleared her throat and said, "We're only looking for the Key to ensure that somepony who poses a very real threat to our homeland doesn't get his hooves on it. Can you please help us?"

"You know not what you ask for, Equestrian," one of the minotaurs growled. "The Etna Key is as dangerous as what it can unleash upon the world."

"What, exactly, is the Etna Key anyway?" Flash inquired. "The first we heard of it is when a chimera attacked me."

The pegasus who had gotten into Twilight's face raised an eyebrow at the young stallion. He shook his head is disappointment as he returned to his own throne. "Is it any surprise that a pegasus born in Equestria knows nothing of the Key?"

"Calm down, Jetstream," Bravehoof said commandingly. He hung his head a little and sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He muttered something inaudible, then faced Twilight and her friends. "These elders are right about one thing: the Etna Key is dangerous. And for a number of reasons. But first and foremost, it is no ordinary artifact. It is… metaphysical."

"Oh, does that mean it's super-duper strong?" Pinkie Pie asked with an excited grin. "Oh, oh, or maybe it means that make you go superfast!" She started galloping around the room at nearly impossible speeds for an earth pony before Twilight caught hold of her with her magic.

"Pinkie, metaphysical means that it's a spiritual thing," the unicorn explained. "It doesn't give you superpowers. It doesn't even have a physical form." She released Pinkie, who fell to the floor in a heap and immediately stood back up next to Twilight. "High Lord Bravehoof, if the Key doesn't even have real form, then how can you be so certain of the risk that it presents?"

"The Key itself is a spiritual construct," the High Lord explained. "It-"

"Bravehoof!" one of the old minotaurs shouted. "You cannot reveal knowledge like this to outsiders!"

The High Lord snarled at the dissenter. "Have you forgotten that _I _am the High Lord now? The last High Lord chose me as his successor because I am willing to ignore you conservative old fools if I feel that my homeland is at stake."

"I knew we should've chosen the pegasus candidate," the second minotaur elder said in angered tone. "He was much more cooperative."

"You made your decision three years ago, old man," Bravehoof replied. He face the Equestrian visitors again. "As I was saying, the Etna Key cannot maintain its own form. Each generation, it takes a new form. When one host dies, the Etna Key moves on to another host. This process began with the creation of the Etna Lock that holds back one of the greatest evils to have ever been born in Hellas."

"Hold on a moment," Rarity interrupted. "Are you actually saying that the Etna Key isn't just a simple key? It's alive?"

"Yes and no. The Key itself is not alive. Its host is. Simple as that."

"Uh, go back a little," Flash spoke up. "You said something about something called the Etna Lock?"

Bravehoof nodded and rose from his throne. He walked over to the ponies with his arms behind his back. "The Lock is the gate that stands between Hellas and certain destruction. Behind the Etna Lock is ancient and powerful demon-warrior whose true name has been lost to the ages. Today, he simply goes by the title of 'Red-Black Beast.'"

"R-Red-Black B-Beast?" Fluttershy stammered. Bravehoof nodded.

"He was a centaur born over five thousand years ago. Centaurs have always been known to be powerful warriors, but seclude themselves in the mountains. They dislike contact with the other races unless absolutely necessary." The High Lord stepped away from the group and approached a window with a clear view of Aegis. "The Beast, however, was a warmonger. He sought to conquer and enslave all of Hellas for himself. Legend says that he made a deal with true demon, who blessed him with immunity to magic and weapons.

"The Beast waged war across the land," he continued, "devastating city after city, saving Aegis for last. He had conquered all but the capital by that point. He laid siege to the city, and broke through the walls. However, he came face to face with two of the greatest heroes in the history of Hellas; the minotaur Taurus the Bold, and Pegasus, the first of his kind. The two heroes battled the Beast with all their might, and somehow managed to push him back out of the city.

"But their battle did not end. They kept fighting until they reached the tallest mountain in all of Hellas, Mount Othrys. There, they unleashed some kind of power that bound the Beast to the mountain. The Beast was still able to fight, however. Pegasus forced Taurus to flee soon, and then sacrificed himself to offer his own soul to create a powerful stone wall carved by the gods themselves. His body became the wall, the door, and the lock. His spirit became the key."

"Wait a minute!" Rainbow shouted, zooming over to the High Lord. "You're saying that the Etna Key is _Pegasus_!? That's impossible!"

"Says one of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony," Bravehoof replied calmly. The Mane 6 all looked at each other and Bravehoof in shock. "You didn't know? Your titles are recognized the world over. Especially you, Twilight Sparkle." The purple unicorn visibly flinched at his tone. "Word spreads fast, you know. Most of the world already knows of you. The disciple of Celestia herself. But that doesn't matter." He returned to his throne and sat back down. "You are here to find a legend. I don't know where the Key is, but I do know where you can start."

"R-really?" Twilight asked, shaking off her initial shock at Bravehoof's knowledge of her. "Where do we begin, sir?"

"Go to the Spire of Hephaestus," the High Lord began. "It is a mountain just south of here. There you will find a centaur village. Ask for Chiron. He will know what you must do."

The Equestrians all nodded. "Thank you, High Lord Bravehoof," Twilight said gratefully. "We'll let you know as soon as we find the Key!" With that said, she and her friends all hurried off to get to their next destination.

When the ponies and dragon were gone, the four elders all glared angrily at Bravehoof. "You have just put all of Hellas into grave danger," the pegasus that the High Lord had called Jetstream said. "If something happens because of this, it is on your head."

"You think I don't know that, you old horse?" Bravehoof asked snidely. "Should my decision backfire, I will take full responsibility. Otherwise, keep your opinions to yourself unless I ask for them." He leaned to the side in his chair, resting his head on one hand. "Although… I do believe that those ponies haven't the slightest clue what's in store for them. Hmph. Something wicked this way comes."

-o-

**Okay, maybe it's just me, but this chapter feels a bit long-winded and just a little bit pointless. Oh well. I guess I'll just let you guys be the judges of that.**


	8. The Mapmaker

The _Sun's Blessing_ was bustling with activity, crewmembers hurrying about with supplies, food, and drink that they would need for their journey. Captain Portside barked out orders to his crew to get everything ready for takeoff soon. When Twilight and her friends returned, he greeted them with a grin and said, "Welcome back, Miss Sparkle. How did the meeting with the High Lord go?"

"Fairly well," Twilight replied. She looked past the captain, taking notice of the crew's labors. "What's going on?"

"Oh, just a quick resupply, lass," the captain explained. "Plus we're getting the old girl ready for takeoff again. Once that's done, we can leave whenever you like."

"Well, how long is that gonna take?" Applejack inquired.

"Yeah, we need to get going soon!" Rainbow Dash announced. "We've gotta get to some mountain called the Spire of Festus!"

"Hephaestus," Rarity corrected, to which Rainbow replied with a "whatever."

"Shouldn't be too long," the captain stated. "About an hour. You could go and take a look around the city, see what Hellas's capital has to offer. Best way to kill time if you ask me."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly.

"I wouldn't mind getting a closer look at the city," Flash admitted with a grin.

"My feelings exactly!" Rarity exclaimed. "I wonder what kind of jewelry and fashions this land has to offer! I've never had the opportunity to experience Hellas's idea of elegance!"

Twilight sighed and gave a reluctant nod. "All right then. We'll go around the city for a little bit, but we have to be back here in an hour. Understood?" Everypony nodded and split up, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie heading off on their own, and Fluttershy following Rainbow Dash closely, leaving Twilight with Spike and Flash. The unicorn raised an eyebrow at them. "Aren't you boys going off to have an adventure of your own?"

"And leave you all by your lonesome?" Flash replied jokingly. "No way. I'm still assigned as your bodyguard until further notice. Besides, I can't just leave a little lady like yourself all alone. Goes against my nature, you know?"

"What he said!" Spike said in agreement.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "My, my, how chivalrous of you. I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not just some helpless little filly waiting for her knight in… armor to come save her from distress."

"Isn't the phrase 'knight in _shining_ armor'?" Flash asked.

"Her brother's name is Shining Armor," Spike explained. "That phrase has always been weird for her."

"I'm right here," Twilight announced somewhat indignantly. "I can take care of myself."

"But, Twilight-" Flash was interrupted when the unicorn levitated Spike off of her back and onto Flash's. She didn't wait for them to respond as she headed off on her own. The pegasus and the dragon gave each other worried looks as the mare pretty much just stormed off. "Did I say something wrong?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Spike only shrugged.

-o-

Twilight grumbled to herself as she walked through Aegis, still not believing that Flash and Spike had so little faith in her own capabilities. Did they really doubt her that much that they thought they had to stay close to her at all times? Maybe she should teach them a lesson. Yeah. Maybe a well-timed spell to make it look like an accident…

She shook her head, eyes wide in shock at that idea. Where had that come from? They were her friends! She would never hurt them, no matter how angry she got at them! In fact, why had she gotten so angry to start with? It wasn't normally like her to just storm off on somepony like that. and speaking of which…

She looked around at her surroundings, and quickly realized something: she was lost. She hadn't been paying any attention at all to where she was going. She groaned when she realized this, and looked up at the sky, trying to use the position of the sun as a means of reading the time. If she was right, she had only left about thirty minutes or so ago. She'd need to get directions and hurry back to the _Sun's Blessing_, and soon.

The young mare hurried to try and get directions, but everyone, both minotaur and pegasus alike, either ignored her or just glared at her, making her shy away. She tried to ask a few merchants who were selling things by the road, but they only gave the same responses every time. She even tried bribing someone with what money she had, but apparently, Hellas didn't use bits, instead using something called drachmas.

After twenty minutes of wasted effort, she sat down with a heavy sigh, leaning against some building. She was lost in a city she knew next to nothing about, had no way of even paying for any information, and had no idea where any of her friends might've been. This was clearly a hopeless situation for her.

"Hey, unicorn," a voice called from nearby. Twilight looked around until she saw somepony peeking out from an alley, a pegasus. Unsure at first, she looked around for a moment, then pointed to herself. "Yeah, you. You lost?" Twilight wasn't sure how to answer. This stallion was a complete stranger. "I can give you directions to wherever you need to go, miss."

"Why don't you come out of that alley first?" Twilight asked skeptically. "You don't exactly look trustworthy standing in that alley like that."

The pegasus snickered at that. "Yeah, good point." He stepped around the corner and stood with a cocky little grin on his face. He looked incredibly average, especially for a pony. Just a light brown coat and dark mane. He didn't really look like the type who would stand out in a crowd. "Listen, miss, I've got a map of the city over here if you're interested."

"That so?" Twilight replied with a suspicious look.

"I know it sounds sketchy," the pegasus admitted, "but I doubt you're gonna get help from anyone else around here. Folks in Aegis – and most of Hellas for that matter – aren't too fond of unicorns. They don't trust magic, you know? It just seems unnatural to them."

"Well…"

"Come on, I'm being generous here. Can't a pony help out another pony?"

The unicorn mare heaved a defeated sigh. "Fine. What've I got to lose?" She stood up and motioned for the pegasus to lead the way. He led her into the alley… where a pair of minotaurs holding large bats sat waiting. "Uh…"

"A lot," the pegasus said with a cruel grin. "You've got a lot to lose."

Twilight gulped and let out a nervous chuckle. "Okay, um, I think I just remembered the way back to… the place I wanted to head back to, so I'll just be going-" She backed up a step, only to bump into another minotaur who was taller and bulkier than the other two.

"You'll stay," the towering brute snarled at her.

"Now that you're here with us," the pegasus began, "why don't we have a little fun?" He licked his lips disturbingly. "It's been a while since I've… _played _with a unicorn."

"I say we just kill her and take whatever she's got," one of the first two minotaurs suggested impatiently. The second minotaur nodded his agreement.

"Not until I have my fun," the pegasus replied as he took a few steps closer to Twilight, who was now cornered into a wall.

A million possibilities ran through her mind all at once, all of them ending gruesomely and painfully. She could practically feel her heart trying to burst out of her chest. This was ridiculous! She could just blast these guys with her magic and gallop off, or teleport away, or something. But she didn't. Fear had suddenly taken over. She couldn't fully think straight. She didn't know what to do.

The pegasus and his minotaur thugs closed in on her, each of them ready to do something horrible to her. She clenched her eyes shut in panic and awaited what was to come.

"Hey!" called a male voice that she didn't recognize. Twilight's eyes shot open to get a look at the source of the voice. He was a unicorn with a gray-blue coat, a jet-black and well-kept mane and tail, and wild green eyes. He didn't look much older than Twilight, only about a year or two. He had an intense look on his face, and his horn was glowing a dark blue shade. "Back off, you thugs!"

The pegasus gave the unicorn stallion a bewildered look at first, then laughed almost excitedly. "Well, how about that! Two unicorns in one day! This is incredible! Get rid of him." The trio of minotaurs snorted and began cracking their knuckles as they stomped toward the unicorn, who held a look of confidence in his eyes.

One of the minotaurs grinned sadistically. "This should be easy. Unicorns are chumps." He moved to tackle the gray-blue pony, but was suddenly enveloped in a blue aura. He started spinning around, getting faster and faster as he spun. "STOP! SPINNING! GONNA! PUKE!"

The unicorn smirked. "If you insist," he said mockingly. He waved his horn towards the other two minotaurs, sending the first one crashing into them. He then lifted all three of them and bashed their heads together, knocking all three of them out in one hit, leaving only the slack-jawed pegasus left. The unicorn raised an eyebrow at him. "Got something to say, feather-brain?" At that, the pegasus turned tail and galloped off as fast as he could, taking flight after he was a few yards away.

The unicorn stallion gave sigh of relief and turned to Twilight, giving the mare a welcoming smile. "Are you all right?" he asked. Twilight just stared at him in bafflement. He had just saved her, a completely unknown stranger, and was now showing concern for her. The "showing concern" part was easy for her to deal with, seeing as how her friends often showed concern for her, but the whole "saving her from danger" part was actually incredibly new. "Excuse me, miss? Are you all right?"

Twilight shook her head for a second, gathering her thoughts. "Er, yes, I'm fine. Um… thank you. Who…?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce myself. Name's Charter. I live in this city. And you're clearly new here. Do you need help with anything?"

"I, uh…" She trailed off. She looked him right in the eyes. His were such a deep shade of blue. They had a kind of wild spirit in them, like he wouldn't let anything get in his way once he's made up his mind about something. She nearly lost herself at that moment, but looked away almost instantly. "I just need to get to the docks. My friends and I will be leaving soon and-"

"Wait a minute," Charter interrupted her. "The docks? You're travelling?"

"Well… yes. We heading out soon, and I need to…" She stopped when she saw Charter's huge, beaming grin.

"That's awesome!" he said excitedly. "I've been in this city my whole life, but it's always been my dream to go off on an adventure, to travel on an airship through the skies, seeing the world from a whole new perspective!" He stopped there. "Er… sorry. I love adventure stuff."

"So I see," Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. "No offense, but you're a bit… odd."

"Yeah, I know," he admitted jokingly. "Anyway, I can take you back to the docks. I go there a lot." He motioned for Twilight to follow. Cautiously, Twilight did so. As they walked, Charter said, "So… I didn't get your name."

"What?" Twilight looked at him for a moment before realizing that he was right. "Oh. I, uh… I'm Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle," Charter replied casually. "What brings you to Aegis anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's… nothing important. Just travelling with some friends of mine."

"Oh. Cool." Charter didn't seem too convinced by Twilight's explanation, but he didn't press the subject. The purple mare eyed him every now and then. He was incredibly fit, physically, like he did a lot of physical labor, despite having magic. She took a look at his cutie mark, too. It was an image of a four-pointed star set like a compass, with four smaller stars in between each point. Judging by that, he might've been a map-maker or something. That thought having crossed her mind, she remembered how excited he had gotten when he learned that she on an… adventure.

"So… you want to go on some kind of incredible adventure someday?" she asked curiously.

Charter grinned almost immediately. "That's right! But… it's more than that." Twilight gave him a questioning look, to which he sighed with a nostalgic look in his eyes. "My parents were travellers, you see. My father was a unicorn who used his magic to make perfect maps, and my mother was a pegasus who had an unquenchable thirst for exploration and adventure."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the way he spoke of his parents. "You're talking about your parent in the past-tense. They're not…" She didn't finish, but she doubted Charter needed her to.

"Yeah. They are. My mother passed away shortly after I was born, and my father took ill when I was seven. After that, I was raised by my aunt and uncle on my mother's side, right here in Aegis." He sighed with a sad smile. "My parents wanted to make the first true map of the entire world. They only got as far as Equestria, Saddle Arabia, and about half of Hellas, though. I hope to someday travel the world so that I can finish their map for them."

Twilight stared at him in awe now. He didn't just want to go off on some grand adventure just for kicks. He wanted to live up to his parents' legacy, to complete the goal they never managed to achieve. He had a purity about him, she realized. He wasn't like any other pony she had met. "That's… that's an amazing dream."

"Yeah," he replied. "It is." He suddenly stopped. "Well, here we are."

"Huh?" Twilight had to look at her surroundings again to realize that they had indeed arrived at the docks. She could even see most of the crew of the _Sun's Blessing_ climbing on board and preparing for takeoff. "Oh. We are."

"Well, goodbye, Twilight Sparkle," Charter said as he turned to leave. "Have fun on your adventure."

"What?" the mare said in sudden surprise. "Wait!" Charter stopped and faced her again. "Uh… would you… like to come with us?" Charter's eyes widened slightly at her offer.

"Really? You want me to come with you?"

"Well, you did sort of save me from a bunch of crooks. I figured giving you an opportunity to live out your dreams of adventure would be the least I could do to thank you."

The stallion gave a huge, excited grin at that. "Yes! Er, could you just give me a little bit to go get some things that I'll need? I'll also need to tell my aunt and uncle about this." Twilight nodded with a small smile, and Charter galloped off.

The young mare couldn't help but giggle at the stallion's eagerness. She hurried over to the _Sun's Blessing _to let Captain Portside and the others know that they would have a new companion. It felt good to help somepony with something they held so close to their heart. Maybe there was some hope for her after all.


	9. Her Greatest Fear

It had been about three hours since they had taken off from Aegis. Charter had come back with a bag full of stuff for drawing up a map and an old-looking compass that he said had belonged to his father. Twilight introduced him to her friends and made a quick apology to Flash and Spike for leaving them the way she had, which they forgave her for, then they apologized for offending her in some way. Soon enough, all was forgiven and left behind them. When asked how she had met Charter, she simply said that she had just gone into a shop that Charter's family ran. She didn't want anypony to worry about her, and the others seemed to buy it.

The purple unicorn was now at the head of the ship, leaning on the railing and watching as the mountains trailed by, the sky gradually turning orange as the sun descended from the sky. The towering mounds of earth seemed much smaller from the altitude that the airship was at, and there were so many of them. Some of them were old and craggy, others were covered in dense forests, and still others were rocky, but in a way that made them seem elegant in a rough sort of way. Hellas was truly a land of gruff beauty.

"Amazing," a male voice spoke up, startling Twilight. Charter walked over to join her and looked over the edge of the ship. "I've never seen Hellas from this high up before. It's incredible."

"Yeah," Twilight replied, looking back at the land. "It really is something."

There was a brief moment of silence. "You know, Twilight, the people of Hellas have a saying; 'a creature of beauty is often the deadliest.'" Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "It's true when you think about it. Dragons, for example, are said to be the most amazing sights anypony could ever hope to see. But they're also one of the most dangerous creatures you'll ever meet. Hellas is a land of both beauty and danger." He chuckled a little. "And most wouldn't have it any other way."

"Why not?" the mare inquired.

"It's their home," Charter answered simply. "And it's mine, too, as much as lot of pegasi and minotaurs might complain. I mean, would you want to change Equestria in any way?"

"I guess you have a point," Twilight admitted with a light laugh. She faced the mountains once again. "Equestria doesn't have nearly this many mountains. We have a fair amount, but not one of them is anywhere close to the sheer size of most of what's here."

"There's a legend behind that," Charter explained. "According to old tales, eons ago, there weren't any mountains here. It was a flat plain. And it was wide open to invaders from all sides. To protect the races that lived here, the gods erected the first mountain ranges to slow attacking forces, giving the minotaurs and centaurs time to ready themselves against their enemies."

"What about the pegasi?"

"This was before their time," he replied. "Heck, it was even before the time of the unicorns, back when ponies lacked wings and horns, when our kind didn't have the special powers that we have now. Speaking of which…" His horn glowed, and a large piece of paper hovered to his side, along with a quill and an inkwell. The rolled up paper unfurled, revealing two large shapes, one labeled "Equestria" and the other "Saddle Arabia." There was one unfinished shape marked as "Hellas." Charter used his magic to dip his quill into the inkwell and began to carefully draw up a small portion of the shape.

Twilight eyed the sheet of paper. "Is that… your parents' map?"

"Yeah, it is." After a few seconds of drawing up small triangles that probably represented certain mountains, he rolled the map back up and cast a spell to teleport it and his writing utensils back to their original place. "Map-making is difficult, but the reward can be well worth the effort."

"I'm sure," the mare said. "Getting the whole thing just right would probably take a lot of time and practice."

"Yeah." The two unicorns were silent for a several moments after that. As they watched the scenery go past, Charter began to eye Twilight somewhat. "By the way, I've been talking to your friends." The mare looked back at him with a questioning look. "They all say that you're really good with magic. So… I have to ask: why didn't you defend yourself back in that alley?"

Twilight hesitated. She looked away from the other unicorn, laying her head down on the railing. "It's… complicated. Let's just say that I was scared and leave it at that."

Charter raised an eyebrow at her reluctance. "Twilight, you'll need to talk to someone about it. I realize that it wouldn't be appropriate if you told me, but you should at least try to talk to your friends. From what I can tell, I doubt they'd think any differently of you."

The purple mare sighed depressingly. "Maybe…" After a moment of contemplating silence, she turned away and walked towards the cabins. "It looks like it's getting pretty late. I'm going to bed."

"All right. Goodnight," Charter said as he gave a small wave to the mare. Twilight looked back once, but said nothing. She went back to the cabins and headed straight for the cot that she had been sleeping in since this journey started. She thought about what Charter had said. Maybe she should tell her friends the truth. But in the morning. She needed some sleep.

-o-

Morning shone in through a nearby window, striking Twilight's face with its warm glow. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up in her cot, stretching and yawning a bit loudly. She noticed that none of her friends were in the cabin. They must've already gone to get breakfast. She climbed out of bed and left the cabin to head for the room that the crew called the mess hall. Oddly, she didn't see anypony as she walked through the ship. Not a soul was to be seen.

"Where is everypony?" she asked herself quietly. She continued through the ship until she arrived at the mess hall. There was no one there. No food had been prepared. The ship was completely empty. "What's going on?" She made her way to the upper deck, hoping to find somepony. Once again, Twilight was the only living thing on the _Sun's Blessing_.

There was an eerie silence, and a dense fog that made it hard to see. Not even the wind was blowing. The ship didn't move at all. Something wasn't right.

"Hello?" she called out. She received no answer, save for that unnatural silence. "Okay, this isn't funny! Somepony please answer me!" She looked everywhere she could, and eventually noticed someone standing at the head of the ship. She couldn't make out who it was, though. The mist was too thick. Desperate to know what was going on, she trotted over to the figure cautiously. "Um… hello?"

No response. She was close enough to see that this stranger was… dark. Very dark. That was all she make out regarding their appearance. "Who are you?" Twilight asked, taking a careful step forward. "Do you know where everyone else is?" The figure gave no reply. The mare took a nervous step back. Something was _very_ wrong right now.

After several seconds of tense quiet, the shadowy figure began to chuckle darkly. They had a feminine voice, one that Twilight felt that she knew. She couldn't quite place it, though. "This power is incredible," the stranger said in a tone filled with dark ecstasy. "I'm amazed that you don't just give into it." The shadows on the stranger's body began peel off as she turned to face Twilight, whose eyes gradually went wide at the pony that she saw.

"No!" she shouted as she turned to run. "I won't!"

"You will!" Several spikes of dark crystal shot up from the floor in front of Twilight as she fled. She tried to go around, but more just cropped up before her, completely blocking her escape. She turned with a panicked look to the other mare, who was taking her sweet time walking down to her. All the while, she had a sadistic grin on her face, like she was enjoying the sight of Twilight's fear.

"It can be so intoxicating," the dark-coated mare began, a vile look in her corrupted eyes. "To be feared. To be strong. You could learn so much. But you push against all you can. It's almost adorable." Twilight gave no response but to shrink away as far as she could, which wasn't far, and turning away from the dark unicorn. The other mare laughed. "Oh, that's so cute how think you can just turn your back on me and believe that that will make everything better. But I won't go away." She leaned in close to Twilight's ear and whispered. "_I will never go away_."

Twilight shot up from her cot in a cold sweat, panting heavily as he heart raced violently. Another nightmare. She put a hoof over her chest to try and calm herself, but this nightmare was by far the most unnerving. There was nothing truly dramatic about this one. No great flames consuming all she held dear, no Accursed One trying to force her to give into darkness. No, this was the most simplistic so far. But the mare in her dream… it was herself.

She could only imagine that the other mare's appearance was what she had looked like when she had been using dark magic. It was far more terrifying than looking at herself in a mirror while like that. Was that what she was like? Dark, malevolent, and cruel? She had fooled herself into thinking that Sombra could be trusted, so why wouldn't she be able to fool herself into thinking that she was justified?

"Twilight!" she heard Spike call. He entered the cabin with a worried look. "Are you all right? I heard you shout in here."

"Y-yeah, I'm…" She hesitated, then heaved a sigh. "Actually, no, Spike, I'm not all right." The baby dragon gave her a concerned look. "I had another nightmare, and this one was… worse." She then explained the details of her nightmare to the little dragon, who had taken a seat next to her cot. She went through every detail that she could remember. When she finished, Spike could only shake his head in disbelief.

"That's just creepy," he stated. "I mean, talking to an evil version of yourself? That's wild."

"I know," Twilight replied with another sigh. There was a moment of silence afterward. "Spike, I need to tell you something, but it absolutely cannot leave this room. Understand?" Spike gave a nod. "You remember how I told you how I met Charter?" The dragon nodded. "Well… I lied. I was in an alley, and these four guys, a pegasus and three minotaurs, were about to attack me, but then Charter came in and scared them off with some magic. He saved me."

Spike raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay, I'm gonna guess that you lied about that so that no one would worry about you, but why didn't you just use your own magic to fight off those thugs?"

"Because… I was scared, Spike."

"Of those crooks? Come on, Twilight! You've beaten way scarier guys than some common criminals!"

"I wasn't scared of them, Spike. I was scared of… myself." Spike gave her a questioning look. "I… ever since I defeated Sombra, I've been… scared. I've been terrified of using my own magic for anything greater than just levitation, the most basic of all spells that a unicorn can cast."

Spike eyed the mare in confusion for a few seconds before he actually got it. "You're afraid that anything more complicated will make you use dark magic again, aren't you?" Twilight nodded solemnly. "But that's ridiculous! You could only use dark magic if you actually _decide_ to use it!"

"I know, Spike, but… you don't understand." She looked away from him, and out a nearby window. "You have no idea what it feels like. Dark magic has a way of… sticking with you. You don't know how powerful it can make you feel. It crawls into your mind, tells you that you can do anything, achieve any goal, conquer any foe. It's not just magic. It's… alive. Addictive." She was silent for a moment. "I… I feel the temptation to use it again every day. I try to ignore the urge, but I… I'm afraid I might slip up someday and…" She trailed off.

Spike was speechless to that. The way she described dark magic… it must've really been terrifying for her. He looked away from her slightly. After a moment of thought, he faced her again, placing claw on her shoulder. "Twilight, listen to me." She didn't bother to look back to him. "Listen, Twilight. You're strong. You have more magical power than any other unicorn in Equestria. Do you remember how you beat Sombra? I don't think that was dark magic that finished him off."

"You still don't get it, Spike."

"Really?" he asked. "Remember my last birthday? I got greedy and stole things because I was getting selfish. I hurt a lot of friends that day. It was only because of my friends, and Rarity especially, that I was able to go back to who I really was, who I really am! And I'm always tempted to get greedy again. But I fight it every day. So don't you say that I don't understand where you're coming from with this, Twilight, because I'm probably the only one who does." Slowly, Twilight faced him, looking at with one eye. "You're stronger than dark magic. I know you are."

Twilight looked away from him again. She climbed out of her cot and made her way to the door. Just before she left, she turned to Spike again and said, "Thank you, Spike." The baby dragon gave her a hopeful smile and sure nod, to which she gave a small, grateful smile in return. She left the cabin.

Spike was alone in the cabin now. Maybe he could have some manly time to himself now. Then he got to thinking. "I probably should've told her that she missed breakfast." He shrugged at that. Too late now, he assumed.

-o-

**All right, the reason why Twilight didn't fight back in the last chapter has been explained. Please stop complaining now.**


	10. Chiron

Silence surrounded him. Not even the birds sang. No animals of any kind dared to enter this place. The quiet aided the centaur. His meditation was important. He sat in the middle of a forest clearing, where an array of stones had been placed thousands of years ago. Only his people, a very small handful of carefully selected others, were allowed to tread these hallowed grounds. As he sat, quietly contemplating recent events, one of his kinsmen entered the clearing and cleared his throat. "Speak," the prone centaur said in a commanding tone.

"Some of our border guards have sent word of an approaching airship, milord," the newcomer said. "They say that it appears to be Equestrian in design."

"Equestrian?" The other centaur nodded, and the prone one rose from his place. "Let them land. Send a team of guards to meet with them. I will be there to speak with them shortly."

"Of course, milord." The second centaur bowed respectfully and went off to do as he was told.

The first centaur looked up to the sky, studying the vast sea of blue above. An Equestrian airship… Was his vision coming true so soon?

-o-

Captain Portside studied his map, then looked back up at the mountain straight ahead. With a grin and a nod, he rolled the map up and turned Twilight and the others, who had gathered up on deck. "Good news: that mountain ahead of us is the Spire of Hephaestus. We'll land in a clearing, and you all can set out from there."

"Thank you, Captain," Twilight said gratefully. She turned to the others. "All right, everypony, listen up. I've read up a bit on the Spire. It's heavy centaur territory, and from what I've read, they hold this mountain as a sacred place."

"Why do they call 'the Spire of Festus' anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Hephaestus," Charter corrected. "It's named after the ancient god of the forge and fire. Legend says that there's a forge deep within the mountain, one that was used by Hephaestus himself. Minotaurs and pegasi also consider it a sacred place, which is why no one ever really goes up there except for centaurs."

"So, we're going to a mountain that's believed to be a god's hangout," Flash summarized rather simply. "This should be interesting."

"I wonder what the centaurs are like?" Fluttershy said. She was truly curious about them.

"If they're anything like their minotaur and pegasus counterparts," Rarity began with an eager grin, "I'll bet that they have a very rich culture. Oh! And I'll bet that their jewelry is just as marvelous!"

"I wonder if they like parties!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, clearly energized by the idea of meeting new potential friends. "I can't wait to meet every one of them!"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Ah just hope that they don't think we're invaders or anything like that. The last thing we need is an army of angry centaurs tryin' their darnedest to trample us."

"Well, whatever happens," Portside chimed in, "you'd all best brace yourselves. We're about to land, and it won't be as gentle as docking at a port." The Mane 6 and company nodded and went to get ready. The captain faced the Spire once more, a confident grin on his face. _They don't need to know that I've never landed on a mountainside before, now do they?_

Twilight quickly gathered anything she might need together in her saddlebags. She doubted that they would be gone for very long, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. As she got ready, Charter entered the room, looking rather thrilled.

"Can I help you, Charter?" Twilight asked as she finished filling her bags.

"Sorry, I just needed to talk to someone," the young stallion replied. "And you're the only one here I know, and even at that, I barely know you at all."

Twilight gave light laugh. "You can talk to me. I'd like to get to know the stallion who saved my life."

Charter chuckled a little. "Well, I'm mostly just excited, and when I'm excited, I tend to talk a lot. It's the way I am."

"Excited? You mean to go to the Spire?"

"Yes! I'd like to add it to my parents' map, and to explore it as well. Very few people ever go there, and as a result, not a whole lot is really known about it. The centaurs who live there are really reclusive. They don't typically like visitors, and they love to keep secrets. I've even heard that some mountain climbers who tried to scale the Spire never came back."

"So this place is dangerous?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"If you're not careful, definitely," Charter said with a nod. "Centaurs are territorial by nature. They're even more wary of outsides than most of the population of Hellas. And that's saying something."

"I'll bet," Twilight said. "We'll need to watch ourselves then. I don't think anyone wants to cause any kind of… arguments." At that, there was a knock at her door.

"Twilight?" called Rarity's voice from the other side. "We're all set out here, darling. We're just waiting for you and Charter, wherever he's run off to."

The purple mare headed to the door, and without thinking about it, opened it and greeted the other mare, who stared wide-eyed at Charter. Confused by Rarity's expression, Twilight said, "What's wrong?"

"Er, Twilight? Is there any particular reason why Charter is in your room? With you? Alone?"

"Well, he wanted to talk, so I let him in. Is there something wrong with that?"

The other mare gave a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. But, Twilight, even if he's your friend, it's not… normally proper for a boy and girl to be in a bedroom alone. Together. It could lead to some…" She hesitated. "… less than savory rumors."

Twilight stared at her friend with a raised eyebrow for a moment before it finally hit her what Rarity was implying. "What? No! Nothing like what you're suggesting happened! We were just talking!"

"I know, but-"

"We're done talking about this," Twilight said dismissively. She trotted off rather upset. Rarity looked over to Charter, who shrugged and walked on after the purpled mare, with Rarity following as well. As they walked, the ship suddenly began shaking violently, throwing them all off balance and sending them stumbling around within the craft. Twilight took hold of a nearby support beam and looked around frantically. "What's happening!?"

"My guess?" Charter said as he struggled to maintain his balance. "The captain's trying to land somewhere and it's not going according to plan!"

The shaking lasted for nearly two full minutes until it finally stopped, though it felt like it had taken forever. The three unicorns managed to get stable footing, and immediately headed to the main deck, where the others had already gathered. The _Sun's Blessing _had landed in the middle of a large clearing on the side of the mountain. It was serene and silent, save for the birds that sang and the small animals that scurried around in the trees. The trees towered over the ship, casting long shadows over everything below.

Twilight approached the ship's starboard side, where Captain Portside and Flash Sentry were talking in tones that were like calm mixed with some level of anger. Flash said something about the captain not knowing entirely what he was doing, and the captain retorted with a comment about his own experience trumping Flash's significantly, to which Flash couldn't really argue. She stopped at the captain's side and asked, "Is this it?"

"Sure is, lass," Portside answered with a confident grin. "The Spire of Hephaestus, home of a tribe of centaurs. I get the feeling that they'll come here to greet us at any moment. We'd best prepare a land party."

"Did somebody say 'party'?" Pinkie Pie said as she bounced in front of them, her Party Cannon ready to fire if necessary.

"Not that kinda party, Pinkie," Applejack stated to the pink mare, who slumped slightly and tucked her cannon away… somehow. Ignoring her friend's… eccentricity, she turned to Twilight. "Ah reckon it should just be you, me, an' the others goin' down there."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "We'll have to be ready for anything. Who know how the centaurs will react to an airship landing on ground that they consider to be holy?"

"Uh, Twilight?" Flash said, getting the mare's attention. "I think you might just be able to ask them yourself." He nodded his head down to where a group of creatures had assembled, many of them armed with spears. They look like large ponies from what should've been the neck down, but from there up, their bodies resembled those of the minotaurs, except for their heads, which were more like the heads of apelike creatures, but with flatter features than a monkey or a gorilla.

Many of them wore heavy-looking armor all over their bodies, even on their legs, and wielded shields on their left arms. Only one of them lacked any such equipment. He looked incredibly old, with a long, graying beard on his chin, his hair just as silvery. His lower pony body was dark brown, and he lacked any kind of cutie mark, probably because centaurs lacked such things. Despite his obvious age, he appeared to be in peak physical condition. He gave a small, respectful bow to them.

"Welcome, Equestrians," he said in a strong, commanding tone. "I hope this is a peaceful visit. Please, come down here so that we may speak face to face. A conversation at this distance is disrespectful to both parties."

Twilight gawked at the appearance of the centaurs for a few moments before saying, "R-right! We'll be down momentarily!" She turned away from the centaurs and stared at her friends, who were just as dumbfounded by the looks of the centaurs as she was. "Okay, didn't see that coming."

Rarity was the first to speak up, clearing her throat. "Well, this doesn't really change anything. We still need to speak with this Chiron character that Bravehoof told us about."

Flash gave a nod of agreement. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's head down there and talk to them."

"Right!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed eagerly. "The sooner we talk to Chiron, the sooner we find out where the Etna Key is!"

"Ah'm with Rainbow on this," Applejack said. "We might not have a lot o' time to find whoever the Etna Key is in right now."

"Then let's go," Twilight said as she led her friends to a platform that was designed to send crewmembers to ground if the ship landed on solid ground rather than docking at a port.

"Wait up!" Charter called as he hurried to follow them. "I want to come, too. No one else in all of Hellas has had such an opportunity to see the Spire and possibly spread the tale. Plus, it could help me with my parents' map."

"Er," Twilight hesitated. "Well… I guess it couldn't hurt." Charter nodded his thanks and stood beside her. Twilight blushed quite noticeably, earning her a few looks from her friends. Especially Flash.

When they hit land, they stepped off the platform and approached the centaurs carefully. Twilight cleared her throat nervously and said, "I'm Twilight Sparkle. We came here because we were told by High Lord Bravehoof that a centaur named Chiron would be able to help us find something."

The elder centaur raised an eyebrow at the ponies, then chuckled slightly. "Well, look no further, Twilight Sparkle. I am Chiron, chief of the tribe that calls this Spire home."

"Really?" Twilight replied in surprise. "Well, that's perfect! We need your help to find the Etna Key! Can you really help?"

Chiron's expression suddenly turned grim, and the other centaurs began murmuring to one another, clearly unsettled by the mentioning of the Key. The elderly centaur narrowed his eyes at the purple unicorn before him. "What could you want with the Key?"

Twilight hesitated, but Flash spoke up in her place. "Someone who threatens our home is in search of the Key. We need to find it before they do."

The centaur stroked his graying beard in thought. "Very well," he said. "Follow me to our village. Your ship and her crew will have to remain here, however, and under guard. One cannot be too careful."

"We understand completely, sir," Flash answered. Chiron motioned for the ponies to follow and began to lead them down a path in the forest.

Twilight looked up to where Captain Portside was watching them and said, "We'll be back soon, Captain! Sit tight, okay?"

"Aye, Miss Sparkle!" Portside called back as he turned and began barking orders to his crew. With that done, Twilight turned to follow Chiron and the others, while the armed centaurs remained. Charter was at her side again.

"So, we're gonna get to see a centaur village," he said eagerly. "This is going to be interesting. I've always wondered what centaur culture was like."

Twilight giggled a little. "I'll admit, I'm a bit excited myself. I never expected the centaurs to look so strange."

"We probably look strange to them."

"Good point."

Flash continually glanced over at Twilight and Charter as the two unicorns conversed. Whenever one of them happened to look in his general direction, he turned away immediately. The two of them seemed to be getting awfully close for only having known each other for about a day. He shook his head. There was nothing wrong with Twilight having new friends, that was for certain. But for some reason… he felt like he had just been replaced. He didn't know why. That was just how he felt.

-o-

**All right, I think it's pretty obvious that this story is going to be significantly longer than its predecessor. Oh well. What I have planned requires a good deal of build-up first anyway, so it works out. Later, bronies and pegasisters.**


	11. The Spire of Hehaestus

The centaur village wasn't what the ponies had expected. There were only a hoofful of houses, definitely not enough to house all of the centaurs that they had seen so far. The locals were all armed with bows and quivers on their backs and swords at their hips, where their equine forms stopped and their torsos began. Not one of them looked like they were happy to see outsiders in their home. Even the younger centaurs had looks of clear distrust in the newcomers.

Chiron had said that ever since his people were forced to take refuge on mountaintops after a war with the minotaurs over seven thousand years ago, the centaurs rarely gave any shred of faith to anyone who wasn't one of their kin. And like the other races of Hellas, the centaurs were primarily a warrior race, which explained why just about all of them were armed and armored. He also said that it was the centaurs who originally founded Hellas, but admitted that the oral tradition may have warped his people's views on history somewhat.

"Why are there so few homes?" Rarity asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Don't tell me that most of you sleep outdoors!"

"Of course not," Chiron assured her. "Centaurs require very little sleep. When we do rest, we do so for a full day. Each of these 'homes' can house up to ten of my kin, all of them sleeping for seven days and nights."

"You sleep for a week?" Rainbow Dash said with a raised eyebrow. "Did you just say that you don't need a lot of sleep?"

"When you are awake for ten years straight, a week of sleep is nothing," the old centaur replied with a small smirk, clearly amused at Rainbow's wide-eyed look. He continued to lead the group through the village, all of them still receiving dirty looks from the inhabitants, until they arrived at a large hut.

The hut was bigger than the other houses, but didn't look like it was meant to be slept in. There was large hole in the roof, and the building's design made it out to look like that hole was intentional. The doors were huge and imposing, with a guard on either side. The doors had a designs on them that depicted scenes of victory and loss in battle, but it was meant to support or discourage war, none of them were certain. Chiron ordered the guards to open the doors and ushered the ponies inside. The floor inside was made of rough stone, with a golden carpet extending from the door to a regal-looking spot atop a small staircase on the other side. Along either side of the carpet was a team of ten guards, all glaring at the ponies, daring them to make a wrong move.

Chiron went ahead of them and stood at the top of the stairs, and faced them with a serious expression. "Guards, leave us," he ordered. The guards did so unquestioningly. Either they doubted that the Equestrians would try anything, or they believed that Chiron would be able to handle all of them by himself. Either thought was frightening.

Chiron silently studied his guests with a careful eye, the same way Princess Celestia looked at an ambassador, Twilight thought. It was as though he were trying to judge whether they were worthy of his trust.

"So," he finally said after several tense seconds. "You seek the Etna Key."

"Yes," Twilight answered honestly. "As I we told you, we only want to ensure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hooves."

"Or hands," Chiron said, almost as though he believed that someone else was after the Key. "I take it the High Lord explained to you just what the Key is. Am I correct in assuming this?"

Flash Sentry nodded. "He said that it was spiritual, and took on a new host every time its previous one dies."

Chiron stroked his beard in quiet contemplation. He nodded and said, "Yes, that is true. Though it is only part of the Key's nature."

"What does that mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"It is always in the form of someone close to some one of great importance, whether it is a fame political leader, a war hero, etc. The Key is past, present, and future. It knows when someone great is born, and will choose a host who will someday become close to that great person. A friend, a family member, even a spouse. Though I cannot tell you who it is now."

"Could you at least give any other information?" Twilight pleaded. "Do you have any possible leads? Anything at all? Our entire country is in danger as long as the Key's current host is!"

Chiron was silent again. He looked up, out the hole above him. He appeared to be in deep though once again. After a few moments of what may been self-debate, he face the Equestrians again. "There may be one thing."

"What is it?" Applejack inquired.

"The Whisper," Chiron answered.

"'Whisper'?" Charter chimed in, just as lost as the others. "What's that?"

"It is a being that has existed since time immemorial. It has no form that a mortal being can comprehend, so it hides in shadows, where it becomes as a mass of living smoke. Legend says that it bears the knowledge of all those in the world who have passed into the next life, preserving the world's truest history."

"All right," Twilight said. "Where do we find the Whisper?"

"One does not simply 'find' the Whisper. It finds you."

"Well, where do we go where it can find us?" Charter asked.

Chiron seemed hesitant for a moment. "There is a cave at this mountain's peak. It is said that that is where the Whisper will sometimes reveal itself to anyone within. However…" He looked Twilight Sparkle straight in the eyes. "Only one of you may go."

"What?" Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "Why?"

"The Whisper is an enigma," the centaur chief answered. "It will only reveal itself once, and only to one person at a time, then vanish for a hundred years, and will not reappear until that allotted time has passed. No one lives who can understand why, but that is how the Whisper exists." He walked over to Twilight, his hooves clopping heavily against the stone floor. "I believe that it will show itself to you specifically, Miss Sparkle."

"Me? Why me?"

"There is an odd aura around you," Chiron stated. "My kind are sensitive to such things, a gift thanks to our connection to the natural world. Yours is an aura of both purity and destruction. It churns like an ocean that is trying to tear itself apart. Always shifting, always changing. The Whisper will likely be attracted to such a presence."

Twilight stared at the centaur, unsure of what to think. Was her aura really like that? If so, was it because of the dark magic she had used when she was under Sombra's manipulation? Or had it always been like that? She couldn't tell which thought was more terrifying.

"No way!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Either we all go to that cave, or none of us go!"

"Rainbow," Twilight said in an attempt to calm the rambunctious pegasus.

"No! I'm not risking the fate of Equestria! I say we all go and _make_ that Whisper thing tell us where the Etna Key is!"

"Is it truly the fate of Equestria that you worry for?" Chiron inquired. Before Rainbow could answer, he asked another question: "Or do you simply not trust your friend?"

"What? O-of course I trust Twilight! She's my friend!"

"That brief moment of hesitation in your voice betrays the truth," Chiron said in a sage tone. Everyone looked at Rainbow then. She looked back at them, a look of bafflement on her face. "You don't trust her. You hold no faith in her. You may as well not even know her in the first place."

There was silence after that. Rainbow Dash, who had been flying ever since the _Sun's Blessing_ had landed on the Spire of Hephaestus, descended to the ground. She gave a Twilight a look, though whether it was a look of distrust or shame, Twilight couldn't be certain. The pegasus turned around and left the building, the doors closing behind her. Twilight was about to follow her, but Chiron stepped in her way. He shook his head wordlessly. The unicorn hated to admit it, but the elder centaur was right. Clearly, Rainbow Dash needed time alone.

-o-

A single pair of red eyes watched as the rainbow-haired pegasus left Chiron's hut. The eyes narrowed at the mare. The owner of those eyes could sense something within her. She already had mistrust planted within her. All that need be done was a little gardening.

-o-

Twilight released a heavy sigh as she sorted through the things in her saddlebags. Finding out that Rainbow Dash, somepony she had considered to be one of her best friends, might not of trusted her had left her feeling just a little bit defeated inside. She felt as though she had just lost part of herself.

She shook her head roughly. She couldn't afford to think like that right now. She had to remain focused on her current goal: meet with the Whisper at the summit of the Spire of Hephaestus and find out who and where the Etna Key was. And she needed to do it alone. It was the only way.

She perked up suddenly, catching herself at that thought. That was the same train of thought in her mind when she was under the influence of dark magic. There was only one way to do things. Any other way would result in failure. In this case, it might actually be true, but she forced herself to forget that thought. It was what led her into darkness, and it could very likely turn her to darkness again.

"Something wrong?" a male voice inquired from behind, making the young mare jump with a small "eep." She turned to face Charter, who held a look that was both apologetic and concerned. "Sorry. You looked like you distracted by something. What's wrong?"

"I…" She hesitated. Should she really tell him what was she was thinking? She didn't want anypony to worry about her. "It-it's nothing, really. Just…"

"Rainbow Dash?" Charter finished for her. "It's obvious that her not fully trusting you bothers you."

She stared at him, somewhat out of disbelief. She sighed heavily once again. "Is it really that plain to see?" Flash simply nodded his response. There was brief moment of silence. "Yeah. It does bother me. Rainbow Dash is my friend. I'd trust her with my life. But the fact that she doesn't trust me… What do you do when the most loyal pony you know doesn't believe in you?"

"I wouldn't know," Charter admitted. "I would try talking to them, but with Rainbow Dash. Well…"

"She represents the Element of Loyalty, one of the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said. "If she doesn't trust somepony, others would also gradually share that distrust."

"That's not true."

"And what makes you say that?"

"I trust you." Twilight stared at the unicorn as though he had just grown a second head. "Look, just because one pony doesn't have faith in you, it doesn't mean that everyone else is going to hate you. You still have friends. And that includes me."

"But… we hardly know each other. What reason would you have to trust me?"

"Well… you helped me to get started on my dream. If I hadn't found you in that alley, I'd still be back in Aegis working at my aunt and uncle's garden shop. Not to mention you're nice, smart, generous, and… well, you're also… pretty."

The unicorn mare's face turned bright red at that last compliment. "Uh… th-thanks. I…" She let out a small, nervous laugh. "That's actually the first time anypony's ever said anything like that to me. I never once expected someone I had only just recently met would say it."

Charter smiled. "That's another thing. You're modest, almost to a fault. I'd personally love to see all that magical talent of yours that I keep hearing about from your friends." Twilight froze at that. "Well, I guess I should leave you to it. Good luck on your climb up the mountain." Charter turned and left.

"Yeah," she muttered to herself. "Thanks." She sighed and turned back to her belongings. _Magical talent,_ she thought regretfully. It was that talent that very nearly killed her friends once. It was the power that she had sought to improve. A power she was now terrified to use.

She shook her head. She couldn't focus on that. She needed a clear mind right now. She needed to find the Whisper.

She began repacking her things as orderly as possible. Once she was done, she would go say farewell to her friends for now, and leave for the summit.

-o-

Flash Sentry gave Charter a look as the unicorn left the small house that Chiron had let Twilight use to prepare for her solo quest to the Spire's peak. He didn't really know why, but he didn't like that guy at all. Something about him just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Is something wrong, Flash?" asked Fluttershy from behind him. She was accompanied by Rarity and Applejack. Pinkie Pie had gone off to try and make friends with the centaurs, apparently because "everyone loves a pony named Pinkie!"

"N-no," Flash answered with very slight hesitation. "There's just something about that Charter guy. I don't like him."

"Why's that, darling?" Rarity inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't really know. He spends way too much time around Twilight for some reason." At that statement, he heard the three girls make a collective "ooh" sound. "What?"

"Ah think Ah know what you're goin' through right now," Applejack said with a small, amused grin.

"What's that?"

"You're jealous, aren't you!?" Rarity exclaimed almost too excitedly.

"What!? N-no, I'm not!"

"Ooh, he's in denial! That confirms it!"

"I'm not jealous!" Flash said indignantly.

"Even I know that denying it like that means it's true," Fluttershy said in quiet-but-sure tone. Flash again denied it, but the girls kept insisting that it was true. Soon enough, Pinkie Pie came bouncing into the scene.

"Hey, guys!" she beamed happily. "What's going on?"

"Flash here keeps denyin' that he's jealous o' Charter," Applejack explained, nodding her head towards Flash, "because Twilight's been hangin' out with him a lot."

"Oh! Drama!" the pink mare said in a dramatic tone.

"I am _not_ jealous," Flash said seriously, trying to keep himself calm.

"Automatic proof that you're a jealous, envious, jealousy, jealous-pants!" Pinkie proclaimed with a wide grin.

"Oh!" Rarity said, a thought suddenly coming to mind. "Maybe he knew Twilight when they were foals! He probably had a crush on her, but she didn't notice him!"

"Maybe that's why he volunteered to be her bodyguard!" Pinkie said, getting in on Rarity's theory.

"He wanted a chance to get her to fall head over heels in love with him!"

"And maybe-!"

"I didn't volunteer!" Flash shouted in a fit of anger. The girls all stared at him with confused looks on their faces. The young stallion sighed. "Princess Celestia thought it best to assign somepony who was closer to Twilight's age, someone she could talk to comfortably. Being the youngest member of the Royal Guard, I was chosen. I didn't want to be anywhere near her! I'd heard about how she was the one who almost caused the destruction of Canterlot! I was terrified of her!" As he spoke, the mares soon began to make motions as if to try and stop him from talking, but he was too busy ranting to notice. "I didn't trust her at all! I fully expected her to try and kill me the first chance she got! I…" He tailed off when he finally noticed the mares' actions. "What?"

Fluttershy nervously pointed behind him, and he turned. Twilight stood there, shock in her watering eyes. "Oh," was all Flash could say for several seconds. "T-Twilight, I…" Without a word, Twilight turned and galloped off as fast as she could, tears running down her cheeks. "Twilight!" Flash called to her. He tried to run after her, but she was too far ahead and already well-into the forest that surrounded the centaur village. He stopped at the edge of the settlement and stomped his hoof in frustration. He turned to the others, a downtrodden look in his blue eyes.

"Flash…" Fluttershy spoke up. "Was all of that true?"

The young stallion hesitated. "Yeah… It was. It _was_ true." He was silent after that. He trotted away, not saying another word. The mares all looked at each other with regret evident on each of their faces. They had just destroyed a friendship… one that could've evolved into something more.

-o-

**And now it feels like these chapters are just getting longer and longer. Meh, whatever. I'll just keep tossing words together I guess.**


	12. The Voice on the Mountain

The pegasus mumbled angrily to herself as she trotted through the forest. Chiron's words had hit her hard. She hated when others accused her of not trusting her friends. She hated it even more when they were right. Rainbow silently cursed the centaur chief. She _did_ trust Twilight. Mostly, at least. The unicorn was one of her best friends. She cared about all of her friends. She _trusted _all of her friends, admittedly almost to a fault. She was willing to admit to herself that maybe she was suspicious of Twilight whenever the unicorn used her magic nowadays, but she didn't hate the mare.

Or did she?

Rainbow groaned at her own thoughts. She didn't want to admit to anything like that. She hated having to admit that she was lying to herself. She hated Chiron for accusing her distrust. She hated knowing that Twilight really could potentially prove her right. She hated that Chiron was right. She didn't fully trust Twilight anymore, not after she had stabbed them all in the back only three months ago.

That wound was still incredibly fresh, she realized. Loyalty was a trait that Rainbow looked for in everypony she met, and she would quickly attempt befriend anyone who possessed it. For someone she would've trusted with her life to betray her was the worst feeling she had ever encountered.

Her mind continued along that trail of thought for a long time, until she tripped over something. She landed face-first into the ground, then shot up, spitting dirt out of her mouth. She glared at the rock that she had stumbled on, but then noticed something. Several more rocks were lined up with it, too perfectly to have occurred naturally, she noticed.

The rocks were arranged in a large clearing into the shaped of a spiral with three long arms latching onto a ring of yet even more rocks. She realized that the centaurs must've arranged this as some sort of sacred place. A place of worship? A burial ground? She couldn't be sure, but there weren't any piles of dirt that showed evidence of burial mounds. None that she could see anyway.

She headed further into the circle of stones, eyeing the strange pattern until she noticed one detail in particular: it was quiet. Unnaturally quiet. There should've been birds chirping, or small rodent scampering on the forest floor. But there was nothing. Just… silence. It was… unnerving.

She stood in the center of the circle, her ears twitching slightly, trying to find any kind of sound. A graveyard would be livelier than this place, she thought to herself. She found herself wondering more as to why this was here. And why was it so quiet?

"You are not supposed to be here," a male voice said suddenly, making her jump with a small yelp. She faced the speaker, and relaxed slightly when she saw that it was Chiron.

"Oh. It's you," she replied harshly. She looked away from the centaur and examined the patterned rocks again. "What is this place?"

Chiron was silent for a few moments, then trotted over to stand beside her. "This is the Ring," he answered finally. "It is a place where my people can go one at a time to offer prayers and gifts to the gods. These prayers can range from something as simple as wishing for good fortune, to being as desperate as pleading for the fertility to have children." There was another silence then. Chiron looked down at Rainbow, who looked back at him with a curious stare. The centaur chief stroked his beard in thought. "I can sense that you are in conflict with yourself."

Rainbow prepared to give a retort, but stopped herself. She sighed. "Yeah," she said quietly.

Chiron nodded slightly. "Normally, we kill any outsiders who set foot here," he explained darkly. "However… I believe I can make an exception. Just this once."

"What?"

"The gods can help with many things. They may help you with your current state of mind." Chiron turned and headed towards the forest, stopping at the edge of the clearing. "Your aura is strong, but it is split down the middle. Half is willing to have faith in your friend. The other wants to see her destroyed. Offer forth a prayer, and the gods may aid you in your decision."

With that, he left her alone in the Ring, not even bothering to listen to Rainbow's other questions. When he was out of sight, the pegasus sighed and looked at the point where the spiral of stones connected. Once again, the silence perturbed her. She sat down in the center, careful not to sit on any of the rocks.

She hesitated. She had no idea what to do from here. Chiron had left without really telling her how she should go about doing this prayer-offering thing. Besides, she was never the religious type. Most religions held firm belief in a set fate for each creature. She didn't like the idea of someone else controlling her destiny. She wasn't atheist of course. She believed in the creator Mother Faust, but not in all of the wild stories that came along with that faith.

"Um… hello?" she called out reluctantly, feeling dumb for talking to pretty much no one. She sighed again. "Look, gods… or Mother Faust, or whatever. I… I just wanna know if I can trust Twilight." She waited then. Her only answer was that all-pervasive soundlessness that she assumed was the Ring's trademark. Absolute quiet. "Please," she continued. "I can't go on like this forever. I represent the Element of Loyalty for crying out loud. I know I can trust her, but I just can't bring myself to do it."

Silence.

She lowered herself to the ground, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Please…" she muttered quietly.

She suddenly heard the sound of hooves trotting on the ground, coming closer. She lifted herself up a little to see who had arrived. Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was.

"T-Twilight?" she asked in surprise at the purple mare as she stood on all fours. "How… how did you find me? Weren't you supposed to go up to that cave on the summit?"

Twilight just stood in front of Rainbow wordlessly, her eyes narrowed as if angry, or worse, suspicious of something.

"Uh… Twilight?"

"I needed to talk to you, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said after a few more moments of eerie silence. Rainbow arched an eyebrow at her tone. It was… more deliberate, colder even, than how Twilight usually spoke. "You don't trust me at all, do you?"

"I…" The pegasus mare hesitated. She heaved out a weighty sigh. "Not completely. Not after… you know." Twilight nodded grimly and began walking around the Ring, examining the order of stones with that analytical glint in her eye that Rainbow recognized all too well. "It's just… how do I know for certain whether I can trust you? You betrayed us once before, and you started using that dark magic stuff. You yourself admitted that it was like some kind of drug or something."

Twilight stopped analyzing the rocks for a moment. "I did say that, didn't I?" It was more a statement than a question. That unnerved Rainbow. Twilight turned to her again. "It really is like that. It crawls into you, body, mind, and soul, until you become one with it. Eventually, you can't live without."

Rainbow took a nervous step back at that. "Twilight?" she said quietly. "Are you feeling all right?" The other mare's voice didn't sound regretful. She sounded like… she was _happy_ that dark magic was such a dominating force.

Twilight giggled, which only served to put Rainbow even more on edge, if that was even possible. "Of course I'm all right, Rainbow," she said with a smirk on her face. Suddenly, her eyes morphed into that hideous combination of colors that was plain evidence of corruption by dark magic, and her horn become sharper and turned into a bloody shade of red. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Before Rainbow could even cry out for help from anyone, Twilight's horn glowed with a malevolent aura, and the blue mare's wings suddenly locked in their folded position. She looked back at Twilight, her eyes wide with shock and horror as the unicorn slowly trotted over to her.

Twilight held a cruel look of disdain in her eyes, a glare that would send chills down a dragon's spine. "You're a potential threat to the Accursed One's return, you winged rat," she stated coldly and hatefully. "You're distrust in me could lead the others to lose whatever little faith they have left in me. I can't have that. Their loyalty to me makes them useful."

Rainbow strained her wings against Twilight's spell, but it was no use. The unicorn's magic was too strong. She glared back at Twilight. "Useful as what?" she demanded.

"Pushy as usual," Twilight chided. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you. That wouldn't be fair to anyone else." She giggled darkly, as though she had just heard a joke. "Suffice it to say, once a tool has served its purpose, it's no longer needed."

It took a moment for a grave realization to sink in. "You're going to kill them," Rainbow muttered in horror at the revelation. Twilight nodded with a tiny, amused grin on her face. "You… you…" She struggled to find the right. Only one came to mind. "TRAITOR!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Twilight laughed outright at Rainbow's exclaimed accusation. "Traitor?" she parroted mockingly. She leaned in close, a dark look in her twisted eyes. "I was never on your side to begin with. But look on the bright side, Rainbow Crash…" Her horn began glowing ominously. "You got your answer, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Rainbow growled at the other mare. "I guess I did." Almost immediately, she kicked a nearby pile of dirt into Twilight's eyes, making the unicorn cough and struggle to wipe the dirt from her face. Rainbow took the opportunity and galloped off as fast as her legs would carry her, her wings feeling more free as she widened the distance between her and that traitor. She needed to get back to the others. She needed to warn them about this. How she would convince them didn't matter. They needed to know one way or the other.

-o-

She felt as though the birds were mocking her. Their songs were so upbeat and happy. They were in tune, cheerful, optimistic. They trusted each other without a second thought.

She was not upbeat, happy, or anything at all remotely close to those things. Dark clouds swirled in her head, all of them made up of feelings of betrayal and loneliness. She despised those feelings, but she couldn't make them go away. And the worst part was… she knew why they were there in the first place.

Rainbow Dash didn't trust her. She had already expected that. A little bit at least. Rainbow held the trait of loyalty in such high regard, believing it to be the single greatest attribute anypony could have. But then there was… Flash.

Flash Sentry hated and feared her. Many others felt the same way. And they rarely hid their feelings – she still had a small scar from when somepony threw a rock at her about a month after the Battle of Canterlot. But when she learned about Flash's true feelings… it stung. It hurt like… like losing someone she cared about. Like she had lost a family member. And the worst part about _that_ was that she didn't know why. Why did it hurt so much to learn that he hated her so much? To learn that he didn't volunteer, but was instead drafted by Princess Celestia to be her bodyguard.

She stopped walking when that thought came to mind. _Celestia…_

Why hadn't Celestia told her the truth of the matter? Why did she just blatantly lie to her? She hated being lied to. Did even the princess not trust her with the truth?

Twilight cursed when those questions came to her. Celestia didn't trust her? Rainbow Dash didn't trust her? Flash hated her? Fine. That's just three more ponies that she can add to the ever-growing list of others who despised her.

_There can be only one option,_ a voice that was not her own said in her mind. _If you cannot earn their love and trust, then force it out of them. Make them trust you._

Twilight silently nodded.

_Make them love you._

"Yeah," she muttered to herself as she continued walking through the woods, climbing up the slope towards the mountain's peak.

_Make them follow you._

"Yes," she said in a slightly louder voice. She then stopped dead in her tracks once again, her eyes wide in horror at what she was agreeing to. "No!" she shouted at herself, shaking her head furiously in a feeble attempt to lose the voice in her head. "No, no, no, no, no!"

The voice gave a throaty growl. _Light or Darkness, Twilight Sparkle,_ it said as it began to gradually fade out. _Light or Darkness._

Twilight screamed in frustration. That decision again. Light or Darkness. It constantly plagued her these days. She dreaded the day when she would have to make that choice. And that voice… it was the voice of the Accursed One. Deep, powerful, evil.

That was the first time she had ever heard it outside of a nightmare, she realized. Either the Accursed One was getting stronger, or her will was getting weaker. Or worse, both. Any one of those thoughts was terrifying on its own.

"I can't do this…" she muttered to herself. She looked up to the sky, her eyes full of fear for whatever the future might hold.

"Please," she called, silently praying for an answer. "I have to know: why me? Why now? Why was I chosen for something like this?" She waited for several moments. Nothing. She sighed almost hopelessly. "Like anyone would answer… me?"

Further up the path, she saw something. A… thing. It was completely black, and it seemed as though it was almost formless. It went farther up the path, beyond her line of sight. She stood there, wondering just what she saw, when she heard what sounded like something being carved into the ground. She looked down at her hooves, and saw a single word written there:

_FOLLOW._

She looked back to where she had seen that formless shadow. She gulped quietly, and headed up the trail. As she walked, she saw arrows drawn into the trees, pointing along the path. Whatever that creature was, it wanted her to find it.

Eventually, after what felt like an hour of what felt like trailblazing, she came across the entrance of a cave. The rather _large_ entrance of a cave. It was five times the size of that Ursa Minor that attack Ponyville over a year ago. She looked around at her surroundings, and only just now realized just how cold it was. She shivered when a breeze hit her. Then, she heard the sound of writing at her hooves again. It was the same message:

_FOLLOW._

She looked back at the cave. She realized that this must've been the cave that Chiron had mentioned, the cave where the Whisper is said to dwell. She took a deep breath and braced herself for whatever she might find and headed into the cave.

It was dark and damp in the cavern. She could hear the faint sound of water droplets hitting the cavern floor as she headed further inside. It was soft, gentle, barely noticeable really. But there was no other sound. Beside the drips, there was nothing.

As she walked further into the cave, a light suddenly shone right in her eyes, making yelp in surprise and instinctively shield her face. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that the light was a simple sphere of light, a spell commonly used by unicorns to temporarily light up a dark area so that they wouldn't have to expend much energy just to read, write, work, etc. What really caught her attention, however, was what must've created the light.

Before her was a massive, shapeless blob of shadows that floated like mist. The shadows spun and twirled around her, as if mesmerized by her. They danced to a rhythm that she couldn't hear, and quickly merged back into the main body. Twilight stared in awe at the creature.

"What are you?" she asked.

The shadows quivered slightly, then extended to a nearby wall and began to etch something into it. When they finished, they moved the sphere of light closer to the writings so that Twilight could see what they said:

_WE ARE THE WHISPER. AND YOU ARE TWILIGHT._

-o-

**Okay, so nobody seems interested in guessing the references to Greek mythology here, so here's what I'm gonna do. I'll test your knowledge. I will write any kind of story for the first person to get the following question right. Keep in mind that I will be making my own OCs, and that I will not write romance stories or clopfics. Anyway, here's the question: What is Aegis in Greek mythology? No Wikipedia searches are allowed, because that's cheating.**


	13. Dark Return

**Attention! Does everyone remember my little question from the last chapter? In case you don't, it was "What is Aegis in Greek Mythology?" The first one to answer AND get it right was 0-Blazing Sun-0. Congratulations! I'll work on the story that you've requested and post it when I can. As for the rest of you, I hope you enjoy this one.**

-o-

Twilight stared with wide eyes at the mass of shadows, completely dumbfounded. She didn't really know what she expected the Whisper to be like. She had thought that Chiron was only speaking through rumored knowledge when he described it as being a "mass of living smoke." Clearly, he was right. The shadows danced and swirled around her again, likely in response to her surprise.

The unicorn shook her head a little to gather her thoughts. The Whisper apparently already knew her name, so that confirmed it being at least knowledgeable of what should've been unknown. "So…" she murmured, unsure of what she should say. "You… you're the Whisper?"

The shadows pulsed as if to say "yes."

"Then I need to ask you a question." She took a deep breath. "I need to find the Etna Key. Do you know where it is, and who it currently resides in?"

The shadows pulsed again, and they began to chip away at the wall, writing another message:

_IT IS ONE YOU HOLD DEAR TO YOURSELF._

"One I hold dear?" she repeated, her eyes going wide in realization. "You mean… somepony I know?" The shadows waved around her, and began to shift more than before. Some of them began to change color to a fairly dark shade of blue, morphing into the shape of a shield with a yellow lightning bolt in its center. She eyed it for a moment. She felt as though she had seen that symbol before…

And she realized that she had. It wasn't just any symbol. It was a_ cutie mark_. One she had seen several times over the past three months. Her eyes went even wider than before when she put together the pieces that the Whisper had given her.

"Flash Sentry is the Etna Key!" she exclaimed at the revelation. _That_ was why that chimera had attacked him back in Ponyville. _That_ is what Discord meant by Flash also playing a vital role. He was somepony she had held as a close friend. And that thought reminded her that he hated her. He was _afraid_ of her. "But… he… I…" She heard the Whisper writing on the wall again.

_YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. ONE THAT IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU._

She shook her head. "I… I do, but…" She hesitated. The Whisper was right. She did have another question. It was one she wanted answered desperately, but… could she really be so selfish as to take up the time that could be spent on returning to the centaur village to tell the others what she had just learned?

_Yes,_ she thought with a depressed sigh._ Apparently, I am that selfish._ She looked back up to the Whisper and said, "I have to choose between Light and Darkness at some point, and I don't know why! Why does it have to be me? Surely there's somepony stronger, smarter! Somepony… braver." She rubbed her eyes when she felt an all-too-familiar wetness in them. "Why me?" she asked.

The Whisper did nothing for several moments. She could only assume that it was contemplating her question. Soon enough, it began to write on the wall once more:

_YOU ARE TWILIGHT._

That only served to confuse her even more. She shook her head defiantly. "No! Why was I chosen? Please, you have to tell me!"

The Whisper did nothing more. It began to dissipate. At this, Twilight's expression went to horror.

"Wait!" she cried, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The Whisper had already faded away, its orb of light disappearing with it. And if what Chiron had said was true, then the entity likely wouldn't return for another one hundred years. She let herself drop to the ground. "Please…" she muttered quietly.

She continued to lay there for several minutes. Eventually, she got back on all fours and lit up her horn slightly, illuminating the cavern. She read over the Whisper's written words again. That last line made her more confused the more she looked at it. Was the reason she was chosen just her name? Or was there something more behind it?

She shook her head again. She needed to focus on what was most important at the moment. She had to get back to the others and tell them the truth about the Etna Key. She wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea of speaking with Flash again, not after hearing what he said. But she had little choice this time. She had to tell them all.

With that thought firmly in her mind, she made her way out of the cave and down the path toward the centaur village. As she hurried along the road, however, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that something was terribly wrong. Something bad was going to happen. She just knew it.

-o-

Flash was lying in the branches of a tree, a little ways out of the village. He needed the time alone. He needed to think about what he would say to Twilight when she came back. How could he possibly apologize for what he said? What could he do?

When Fluttershy asked if what he said was true, he was honest. It _was_ true. At first. He gradually grew to trust Twilight. She was kinder than people said she was. Gentle. Fragile, even, especially considering what had happened prior to them meeting. He grew to consider her a true friend.

"I'm such an idiot," he chided himself, intentionally bumping his against the tree. He couldn't get that look she had out of his head. She looked almost completely destroyed. The fact that she was crying didn't help at all. The way she stared at him, her violet eyes wide with shock and sorrow…

He sneered and punched the tree as hard as he could, getting a satisfying crack from the bark. His hoof ached a little, but he didn't care. He punched the tree again. And again. And again. He needed to vent. He needed to let out all of the frustration that he had brought on himself. This was hitting him a lot harder than he would've thought that it would. He felt as though he might as well have just stabbed Twilight. He didn't like feeling like that.

He punched the tree one more time, then lay down on the branch again. He sighed heavily, and just looked up at the sky.

"What should I do?" he asked to no one in particular. "What can I say to her?" He figured a simple "I'm sorry" wouldn't suffice for something like this. But he needed to do something! He couldn't let her go on forever thinking that he hated her. He cared about her too much to let her suffer like that.

As he tried to think of something – anything – to say, something whooshed by, a rainbow blur zooming past him. Rainbow Dash flew back to him, looking as though she had just seen something horrifying. "Flash! Have you seen Twilight around here?"

"I…" he hesitated. "N-no. Not since she left."

The mare gave sigh of relief. "All right. So there's still time to warn everypony."

"Warn us about what?"

"Look, there's not time for me to tell everyone one at a time!" Rainbow exclaimed frantically. "Come on!" She flew off, not even waiting for Flash to catch up. The young stallion shook his head and stared in the direction that she had zipped off in for a moment, then followed as quickly as he could.

They found Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all gathered together near the middle of the village. The four of them seemed to be talking about something, but stopped when Rainbow and Flash arrived. Applejack was the first to notice them, and said, "Rainbow? What're you doin' back here?"

"We have a huge problem!" the pegasus mare announced. "Twilight's gone bad again, and she tried to kill me!"

"Wh-what?" Flash said, his eyes wide in shock at the accusation.

"That can't be right!" Rarity argued worriedly. "Twilight is… she…"

Applejack seemed skeptical. "Are ya sure about that?" she asked. "What if it was an impostor?"

"It was Twilight," Rainbow said with an affirmative nod. "I… I don't wanna believe it any more than you guys, but it's the truth. And she's planning something. I don't what, but it involves getting rid of all of us."

"She has to be under some kind of spell," Flash theorized, though he knew it was mostly just wishful thinking. "Maybe someone who works for the enemy got to her."

"That would only make the situation worse," Rarity stated. "The last time somepony got control of Twilight's head, it was that horrid King Sombra! But he's long gone now."

Pinkie Pie suddenly bounced up excitedly. "This isn't as bad as you all think! We just have to remind Twilight that we're her friends, just like last time!"

Rainbow shook her head. "I don't think it's that simple, Pinkie. She… she said that she was never on our side to begin with." The blue pegasus hung her head low, as if in shame. "I never thought being right about somepony would feel this terrible."

"We'll figure it out, Rainbow," Applejack said, placing a hoof around her friend's shoulder. "We'll find a way to fix all o' this. Ah just hope we can find that dang Key before anypony else does."

As the others talked, beginning to come up with a plan to face Twilight, Fluttershy noticed something strange around their hooves. She lifted one leg off the ground, which was covered in some kind of dark mist that was seeping into the village from the woods. She knew immediately that it wasn't natural in any way. "Um, g-girls? Flash?" she said quietly, trying to get everyone's attention. They only continued speaking to one another. "W-we might have a p-problem."

"We know, Fluttershy," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "We're trying to figure out how to do this, all right?"

"B-but…"

"Later, Fluttershy."

"O-okay, but there's this… fog."

"Wait, fog?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow. They all looked down at the ground to find the dark mist as it spread all throughout the village, blanketing the forest floor in black. "Oh, that doesn't look very good at all."

Several centaurs had also taken notice. They looked around at the peculiar mist, trying to piece together exactly where it might've come from. Chiron trotted over to the Equestrians, a concerned look on his face. Soon enough, Charter also appeared, looking a bit unnerved. "Do things like this usually happen around you guys?" he asked the others. Fluttershy shook her head nervously as she stepped closer to the group, trying to hide herself amongst them.

There was faint, dark laugh as the mist spread ever further. It grew louder over the passing moments, more powerful. It wasn't Twilight's voice.

"That's not the kind of laugh I like to hear," Pinkie stated as she took a small step back.

"Who's out there!?" Rainbow Dash demanded, stamping her hoof on the ground. There was malevolent chuckle in the wind then.

"Do you not remember me?" a deep, gravelly voice replied darkly. "I remember all of you. And I have learned much since we last met… Rainbow Dash."

"Who are you?" Flash asked as calmly as possible. "What do you want?"

At that, a distinctly female voice gave a spine-chilling giggle. "Oh, Flash. You always have been fairly inquisitive." Everyone but Rainbow's eyes went wide when they recognized the voice.

"Twilight?"

And as if on cue, Twilight Sparkle stepped out of the shadows of the forest, a small, borderline arrogant smirk on her face. "The one and only," she said with cold malice. Her twisted eyes and curved horn betrayed her corruption. "Along with someone else. Someone I think a few of you might recognize."

At that, a section of mist to her left began to swirl and rise up, as if something was trying to break free of the black fog. The fog began to solidify and crack, then gradually tore away, flying off in flakes until the one within was revealed. A dark-coated stallion slammed his hoof against the ground, creating a sound like thunder. His eyes were a vile red, his pupils slit like a snake's. The whites of his eyes were sickly green, and a purple smoke oozed from them. His horn was curved and red, and when he grinned at them, he revealed long, razor-like fangs.

The remainder of the Main 6 stared at the dark stallion in horror, while all others present murmured to themselves. Of them all, Rainbow Dash was the only one to speak.

"K-King Sombra!?"

The dark king chuckled at the mare's shock. "Who else were you expecting?" He turned to Twilight. "I must commend and thank you, my loyal student. I would have never found this place, had you not informed me of your quest's progression."

Twilight bowed respectfully to the king. "It is an honor and a privilege to serve you, Master." She raised her head and faced the others, her horn glowing with dark magic. "Now then, how would you like me to finish them?"

Sombra grinned sadistically, and said, "Slowly. And painfully."

Twilight made an equal smile. "I was hoping you'd say that." She unleashed a blast of evil magic at her friends.


	14. Impostor

Twilight's hooves clopped heavily against the ground as she galloped to the centaur village. She had to get back to her friends. If what the Whisper said was true, and Flash Sentry really was the Etna Key, then they were all in grave danger. Especially Flash. If the enemy found out about him, then they would like send in something powerful enough to capture Flash and destroy the rest of them.

Then she thought about Charter. He was completely unaware of the full nature of their quest. She should never have brought him along in the first place. It was too dangerous! Their enemies were powerful, and bordered on being godlike! What was she thinking, letting someone who had nothing to do with this join them?

She shook her head. "I can't afford to think that way now," she muttered to herself. "I have to stay focused."

"Focused on what?" a voice suddenly asked, which sent her for a spin. She tumbled over her own hooves when she heard it, collapsing painfully on the ground. Somepony was laughing at her for that. And, unfortunately, she recognized that laugh.

"Discord!" she shouted as she got back on all fours, her horn glowing without her realizing it. "Show yourself!"

The draconequess's laughter softened down into a light chuckled of amusement, and he appeared before her in a bright flash of light, lounging on a hammock between two trees, a pair of shades on over his eyes. He grinned at her almost mockingly. "Relax, Twilight Sparkle," he said casually. "I'm not here to fight you."

"Then what do you want?"

Discord smiled, and he wrapped his arm around her neck from behind, totally disappearing from his original position. "I just need to warn you that a certain somepony is here, and he's not too happy with you. In fact, he's in that village right now, tearing the place apart with some new company."

"New company?" Twilight parroted. "Who are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Twilight," the spirit of chaos said cryptically. "He's big. He's mean. He's a self-proclaimed king."

She quickly put the puzzle together. "You mean… King Sombra?" she said, her eyes wide in terror. "B-but that's impossible! He was destroyed in the Battle of Canterlot!"

"Or so you thought," Discord replied as he wiped his eagle talons on his chest. "My boss had me teleport him away just in the nick of time. That's why there was nothing left of him. We waited a while, then… well, you can pretty much guess the story from there."

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. Sombra was alive? And he was here on the Spire? Now she had even more reason to get back to her friends. Just as she was about to leave, however, Discord stepped in front of her. She glared at the draconequess. "What are you doing!? I have to go help my friends!"

"Weren't you listening?" the master of chaos asked in annoyance. "Sombra's got backup. And it's you backing him up."

"Wait, what?"

Discord smirked in amusement. "It's like I just said. You're the one standing at his side as he gives your friends a royal trouncing. Life's funny when it throws you for a loop like that, isn't it?"

"But… I… I'm right here! How can _I _be the one supporting Sombra!?"

"I'll let you figure that one out." Discord yawned loudly then. "As for me, it's almost bedtime. Good luck, Twilight Sparkle. You'll need a whole lot of it." With that, he snapped his fingers and vanished in flash of light.

The mare stood there, utterly shocked and baffled. There had to be some sort of mistake! There just had to be! How in the world could she possibly be in two places at once? Unless… was it a changeling disguised as her? Was the changeling queen Chrysalis involved in all of this as well? Or could just be some kind of illusion? What in the world was happening?

She shook her head. She'll find out what was going on once she got to the village. She had to hurry before someone she cared about got hurt. She made to gallop down the path again, but just as she was getting a good speed, something hit her. Hard.

A green bolt of magic struck her side and sent her hurtling into a boulder, eliciting a yelp of pain from her as she hit the ground. She managed to pull herself up, albeit somewhat shakily, and tried to find whoever had attacked her. She could only stare in shock at what she saw.

Before her was a swarm of changelings. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of them. They all looked ready to destroy her at a moment's notice. She took a step back, bumping into the boulder that she had crashed into, her horn instinctively glowing with magic energy.

From the swarm emerged an all-too-familiar face. She approached Twilight, holding herself high as though she were superior. "Twilight Sparkle," said Queen Chrysalis in serious tone. "I… need your help."

-o-

The Equestrians only barely managed to evade the explosion of dark magic that Twilight had fired at them. The darkened unicorn actually laughed with dark glee as she unleashed another blast aimed for Rainbow Dash. The pegasus yelped and flew to avoid the beam, only to be struck hard by another one, sending her crashing into a nearby house. She groaned as she got back on all fours. She glared at Twilight as the others tried to fight. They couldn't get close enough to really do anything at all.

The centaurs who tried to defend against their attackers fared no better. Sombra blasted them away with terrifying ease whenever they got too close. As much as Rainbow hated to admit it, they didn't have much of a chance against these two. It was just like the Battle of Canterlot. The odds were stacked hopelessly against them.

She shook her head. No time to think like that. She needed to fight. With that thought driving her, she charged into a headlong rush towards Twilight, hoping to tackle the unicorn to the ground. The purple mare barely gave her any notice, erecting a barrier that rainbow crashed directly into.

Twilight laughed and returned to attacking the others, practically ignoring Rainbow's attempted strike. She charged her horn and fired off several bolts at her former friends.

Pinkie Pie leaped around in a much more frantic manner than the others as she said, "Twilight! Stop it! Friends don't hurt friends, remember!?"

"Don't you get it, you simple little foal?" Twilight said with a cruel smirk. "You were never my friend. None of you were. You were always just a means to an end. Nothing more."

"But… but…" For the first time ever, Pinkie was utterly speechless. One of her best friends had not only insulted her, but had never considered her a friend to begin with. That was just enough to break her. Her mane practically deflated, and her coat somehow darkened as she fell down to her rump, a destroyed look upon her features.

Twilight then looked over to Fluttershy. "And you. Such a timid, hopeless little coward. You're terrified of everything that comes within two feet of you. I've heard ponies call you a doormat before, but I feel inclined to disagree." When Fluttershy and the others gave her a confused look, she said, "A doormat would actually stand up for itself. You're less than worthless."

"N-no," the yellow mare said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I'm not… I…"

"Why don't you just quit with the petty insults?" Rarity demanded angrily. "It's taking away what little dignity you have left, Twilight Sparkle!"

The darkened mare scoffed. "I never once thought I'd be scolded about being petty by the Queen of Petty," she laughed. "We don't even need clothes! Your little hobby is ultimately worthless, and deep down, I think you know it. You're just too much of _prissy, pretty little thing_ to admit it."

"Wha! Why I-!"

"You keep yer lyin' mouth shut!" Applejack shouted, stopping Rarity from doing something they both knew she'd regret. "We used to trust ya, Twi! We were yer friends! What in the hay changed you?"

"Nothing's changed," Twilight assured the blonde mare. Her horn was glowing more malevolently now, clearly readying a spell. "This is just the way things are now." Just as the dark unicorn was about to release a burst of magic, however, she was struck by a purple streak of magical energy, which sent her spiraling into a house that crumbled on top of her.

Rainbow Dash managed to get up and see the event, and turned to the source of the attack. Her jaw dropped at the sight before her. "What the flying feather!?" she shouted in disbelief. Galloping towards them was none other than… another Twilight. This one looked normal, almost defiant even, but so did the first Twilight back in that place that Chiron had called the Ring.

Rainbow's shout had also gotten the attention of Sombra, who turned away from a group of centaurs to see the new arrival. His eyes went wide when he saw the uncorrupted young mare, but he hardened his expression when he saw that the valiant look she was trying to display was little more than a mask. He grinned and laughed humorlessly.

"What a strange occurrence," said the dark king as the dark Twilight managed to blast her way out of the rubble that she was buried under. "Two Twilights in one place. Truly peculiar, isn't it?"

Ignoring the king, Rainbow charged right up to the new Twilight, glaring at her suspiciously. "All right, just who are you?" she demanded, pushing the unicorn back a little.

"I'm the real Twilight," the purple mare replied with what she hoped would be an assuring look. She then walked past Rainbow and pointed accusingly at her double. "She's an impostor. A changeling!"

The others began muttering to each other in shock. The changelings hadn't been heard from since Shining Armor and Cadance got married. Why would one show up now of all times? But before anyone could say anything on the matter, another voice interrupted:

"She's not just any changeling," said the voice of Queen Chrysalis, who flew in with her swarm of changeling followers close behind. She charged her horn with changeling magic and fired at the dark Twilight, who surrounded herself in a bubble of dark magic. The dark Twilight snarled and was enveloped in a green swirl of energy.

After several seconds, the energy dissipated to reveal a new changeling, just as tall as Chrysalis, and extremely similar in appearance. The only obvious differences were her eyes, which showed the obvious signs of corruption via dark magic and her lacking the small crown that Chrysalis wore upon her head.

The changeling queen sneered at the other shape-shifter. "Her name is Vexa," she said in a tone of complete derision. "She is my twin sister."

-o-

**Okay then, Matthais Unidostres, let's see your theory for this, shall we? Still think it's just Chrysalis?**


End file.
